By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration said the facility that handles Newark air traffic on Monday lost radio frequencies for about two seconds, the latest in a series of telecom issues.
The incident occurred around 11:35 a.m. ET (1535 GMT) and all aircraft remained safely separated, the FAA said.
The incidents highlight the air traffic control network’s aging infrastructure and come after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy earlier this month proposed spending billions of dollars to fix it over the next three to four years.
Newark air traffic has also been hit by a series of telecom outages including a serious incident on April 28 that led to dozens of flight diversions. The FAA last year relocated control of Newark’s airspace to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City-area traffic.
Last week, the FAA said it was convening an emergency task force and fast-tracking urgent steps to prevent additional telecom outages at the facility overseeing Newark air traffic after three incidents have shaken public confidence.
Officials said last week the FAA could experience other telecom failures. “We could see other situations like this around the country because the system is old,” Duffy said at a press conference.
Nationwide, the FAA has about 3,500 air traffic controllers, below targeted staffing levels, and some controllers overseeing Newark took stress leave following the April 28 outage. The area overseeing Newark has a targeted staffing level of 38 certified controllers, but currently has just 24 in place.
The FAA on Friday said it plans to announce proposed temporary cuts to flights at Newark after meetings with major U.S. airlines to address congestion impacts.
The FAA held three days of one-on-one meetings with the airlines “to find a balance between reducing their operations at the airport and meeting the needs of each individual airline.”
“The airport clearly is unable to handle the current level of scheduled operations,” the FAA said last week, adding it believes the proposal “would reduce overscheduling, flight delays, and cancellations to an acceptable level.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Stephen Coates)
