The Trump administration is under increasing pressure to upgrade air traffic control systems and expand staffing levels.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States has reported a second radar outage at Newark, New Jersey's airport within a two-week period.
This ongoing issue raises significant concerns about the current state of air traffic control in the U.S., intensifying calls for action from President Donald Trump's administration to improve aviation safety. On Friday, the FAA revealed that, around 3:55 AM local time (07:55 GMT), a telecommunications signal failure occurred at a facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, lasting for approximately 90 seconds. This disruption prevented the facility from monitoring communications and radar signals at Newark Liberty International Airport.
A recording of the incident, reviewed by Reuters, captured the frustration felt by controllers during the outage. “FedEx 1989, I’m going to hand you off here. Our scopes just went black again,” a controller informed the pilot of a FedEx flight. “If you care about this, contact your airline and try to get some pressure for them to fix this stuff.”
This outage marks the second time in less than two weeks that a 90-second disruption has affected Newark, a major hub serving the New York City metropolitan area. A similar incident occurred on April 28, which led to hundreds of flight delays and numerous diversions. In the aftermath, five air traffic controllers took leave under a federal law that allows them to take time off following traumatic events.
Following the recent outage, The Associated Press reported that Newark experienced a spike in delays and cancellations, citing data from the tracking site FlightAware.com.
During a daily briefing with the press, the White House briefly addressed the issue, promising upgrades to the system in the coming months. “There was a glitch in the system this morning, especially at Newark airport,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “That glitch was caused by the same telecoms and software issues that were raised last week. Everything went back online after the brief outage, and there was no operational impact.”
Leavitt assured that the FAA and the Department of Transportation would work to resolve the technical issue "tonight" to prevent further disruptions.
While air traffic control systems are designed to function efficiently under normal circumstances, industry experts emphasize that air traffic controllers and pilots are trained to handle such outages in order to minimize any risks. Captain Dennis Tajer of the Allied Pilots Association explained, “The system is wired to run really well when everything’s functioning. But the most important part is that it’s prepared to function when things go wrong. Even when it sounds frightening, know that the air traffic controllers and the pilots have training, and we go to that.”
The latest outage, however, has increased scrutiny on the Trump administration, especially in light of several high-profile aviation incidents since the administration took office. On January 29, a mid-air collision over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., resulted in the deaths of all passengers and crew members aboard two aircraft: an American Airlines passenger jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter. Trump initially speculated that diversity initiatives under former President Joe Biden’s administration contributed to the crash, though he provided no evidence to support the claim.
In February, the Trump administration also faced criticism for cutting hundreds of FAA staff as part of its efforts to reduce government spending. Critics warned that such staffing cuts had left air traffic control and related positions understaffed, increasing the risk of errors and malfunctions. Among the affected roles were airline safety inspectors and maintenance technicians.
U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who represents a district in New Jersey, issued a statement earlier this week calling for an increase in FAA staffing to address staffing shortages at Newark Airport and improve aviation safety. “I am demanding that the Trump administration add more air traffic controllers to cover Newark Airport to immediately help reduce shortages—and pay all the workers accordingly,” Gottheimer said. “The bottom line is that this isn’t a partisan issue—it’s a matter of public safety. It’s about fixing a system that needs fixing.”
Trump administration officials, in turn, have criticized previous administrations for failing to modernize the air traffic control systems. Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans to lead the modernization of these systems, including replacing outdated copper cables with fiber optics and upgrading radar and radio equipment.
“Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now,” Duffy said in his announcement.
However, the project’s future is uncertain, as it will require both congressional approval and funding before moving forward.
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