Air Traffic Outage at Newark Sparks Major Disruptions, FAA Under Scrutiny

An equipment outage at Newark Liberty International Airport last Monday led to a 60- to 90-second blackout of air traffic control radar and communications, according to sources familiar with the incident. The failure rendered air traffic controllers temporarily unable to communicate with aircraft, as confirmed by ATC audio recordings obtained by ABC News. In one recording, a controller can be heard saying, “Approach lost all the radars… three of the four radar screens went black and they have no frequency.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded by halting all departures to Newark, citing “telecommunications and equipment issues” at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which oversees airspace around Newark.

Following the incident, several air traffic controllers took medical leave, citing trauma, and invoked protections under the Federal Employees Compensation Act. This law allows time off for federal workers experiencing physical or psychological injury on the job. These controllers are entitled to at least 45 days of leave and must be cleared by a doctor before returning to duty.

The Philadelphia TRACON facility has been understaffed for years, and the recent outage has intensified strain on operations. “Frequent equipment and telecom outages can be stressful for controllers,” the FAA acknowledged. With a highly specialized and limited workforce, the agency noted that replacing or supplementing staff is a long-term challenge.

The impact has been severe. Since April 26, Newark Airport has averaged 39 flight cancellations per day—up from just four per day earlier in April—according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. On-time departure rates have dropped from 80% to just 63%.

To manage the disruption, United Airlines has cut 35 round-trip flights daily from Newark. CEO Scott Kirby called the move necessary, given the chronic staffing shortages and ongoing delays. “It’s disappointing to reduce an already limited schedule,” he wrote in a message to customers, “but we have no other choice if we want to protect our passengers.”

United also issued a travel waiver, allowing customers flying to or from Newark to rebook without penalties.

The delays have been compounded by ongoing runway construction and adverse weather in the New York metro area. Newark ranked as the world’s most delayed airport on Monday afternoon.

In response, the FAA committed to modernizing its infrastructure, stating, “We are working to ensure more resilient and redundant telecommunications systems in the New York area, and updating our automation systems to improve overall reliability.”