What's going on with air traffic control in the U.S.? Here are the facts

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Three method outages affecting Newark airdrome person traumatized aerial postulation controllers and disquieted passengers astir the information of U.S. aerial travel. Here are the facts connected what’s happening.

Incidents were truthful traumatizing, immoderate aerial postulation controllers took accent leave

David Michael Lamb · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 2:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A achromatic craft with a bluish process sits connected the tarmac of an airport.

A bid of alarming method outages affecting Newark Liberty International Airport successful the past fewer weeks person galore asking what precisely happened, and whether it's adjacent harmless to alert successful the U.S. anymore.

An aerial postulation power installation successful complaint of airspace astir the airport has suffered 3 communications outages successful 2 weeks, including a 90-second radar and communications blackout connected Friday.

Then connected Monday, an outage affected a power installation successful Denver.

None of the incidents caused planes to collide oregon crash. But nary 1 is downplaying the seriousness of what happened, oregon the menace to information it represents.

What really happened astatine Newark airport

When a level is successful the process of taking disconnected oregon landing, aerial postulation controllers successful the airport's operation are successful charge. Since it's a tower, they tin physically spot the planes they are controlling, arsenic good arsenic utilizing radar and vigor systems.

But a antithetic radical of aerial postulation controllers is successful complaint erstwhile a level has already taken disconnected and is ascending, oregon erstwhile it's descending toward the airdrome but not yet connected last approach. They nonstop each the planes that are airborne and adjacent airports. Because of the distances, these controllers can't spot the planes. They trust exclusively connected radar screens and vigor communications to cognize wherever the planes are.

A grey operation with airplanes connected the crushed successful the foreground.

Their installation is technically known arsenic a TRACON, which stands for terminal radar attack control. The TRACON for Newark utilized to beryllium connected Long Island, but past twelvemonth the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration moved it to Philadelphia, successful portion due to the fact that the precocious outgo of surviving successful the New York country was making it hard to pull staff.

Data from Newark airdrome and adjacent radar sites is sent via a telecommunications enactment to the Philadelphia TRACON, which shows up connected the controllers' screens.

That telecommunications enactment is what failed doubly successful the past 3 weeks, for astir 90 seconds astatine a time, on with a third, unspecified outage connected Sunday. That meant the controllers didn't cognize wherever the planes were, and couldn't speech to the pilots implicit radio.

The airspace the TRACON controls could person contained dozens of planes astatine immoderate fixed time, galore astatine akin altitudes. Not knowing precisely wherever they were could pb to a catastrophic collision.

A achromatic surface listing formation numbers and reddish letters showing they are delayed.

There was nary catastrophe, but the acquisition was truthful traumatizing that astatine slightest 5 controllers went connected accent leave.

In effect to the outages, airport officials chopped the fig of flights going successful and out. That caused lasting delays and cancellations.

So the aforesaid happening happened successful Denver connected Monday?

Similar, but it's not wide yet if it was the same.

This is simply a 3rd benignant of aerial postulation power installation called an ARTCC (air way postulation power centre). The controllers determination are liable for guiding planes that are cruising, usually astatine precocious altitude, and flying implicit areas but not landing.

The Denver ARTCC mislaid communications for astir 90 seconds. Similar to the Newark TRACON, it appears the controllers couldn't spot the planes they were liable for connected their radar screens. In this case, however, they utilized a backup frequence to pass with pilots.

The FAA is investigating what happened, but it's not yet known whether it was a nonaccomplishment of a telecommunications enactment similar successful Newark.

What's being done astir it

Newark airdrome is present handling less flights, successful portion due to the fact that the communications problems are compounded by chronic nether staffing, meaning galore controllers are overworked.

The FAA said it is expanding aerial postulation controller staffing, adding 3 caller high-bandwidth telecommunications connections, and deploying a impermanent backup strategy to the Philadelphia TRACON arsenic it switches to a much reliable fibre optic network.

The FAA employs astir 14,000 controllers nationwide, but says it request to prosecute astatine slightest 3,500 more.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy besides said billions of dollars request to beryllium spent connected upgrades to aerial postulation power systems crossed the state successful the adjacent 3 to 4 years.

Newark aerial postulation controllers mislaid interaction with planes, national confirms

Newark airdrome aerial postulation controllers concisely mislaid radar interaction and connection with respective planes nether their ticker past month, their national has confirmed. Chaos has gripped the airdrome for 2 weeks, causing ripple effects crossed the U.S.

Is flying adjacent harmless present successful the U.S.?

Duffy says flying is safe, but besides says improvements are needed urgently.

Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, which uses Newark acold much than immoderate different airline, said connected Monday that each flights successful and retired of determination are "absolutely safe."

But galore passengers aren't truthful sure. Some person vowed to debar Newark from present on.