Newark airport radar glitch underscores bigger problems with an outdated system

The brief blackout of radar and radio systems at the busy Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on April 28 has raised public and federal concerns over America’s air traffic control systems.

What happened?
The terrifying glitch lasted up to 90 seconds at EWR and left air traffic controllers (ATC) unable to track planes or talk to pilots. It caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations in the following days.

Several ATCs reported exhaustion and trauma, with some taking leave after the April incident.

The bigger problem
The outage, clubbed with repeated technical failures and staffing shortages, highlights longstanding problems in the country’s air traffic control system. Aging technology, underfunding, and a lack of ATCs have strained operations.

According to senior officials, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) outdated equipment, some dating back to the 1950s, suffers at least 700 communication outages each week.

The FAA is also understaffed. It has 10,700 fully certified controllers, with 500 eligible to retire. This leaves the agency with 3,000 controllers short of its target.

The situation is dire. Several troubling air events occurred recently, including a January midair collision near Washington’s Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people, and near-misses involving planes and helicopters.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pledged an overhaul. He is pushing for a plan that will modernize equipment and facilities. It could cost between $20 billion and $40 billion.

However, a recent spending bill only allocated $12.5 billion, and previous funding requests have stalled in Congress.