Flight schedule reductions at Newark Airport will continue until October 2026, according to a proposal by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented measures to address the air traffic controller shortage and congestion issues at Newark Liberty International Airport.
To mitigate safety and delay concerns, the FAA has imposed operational limits on flights. This includes limiting weekend operations to 56 flights per hour during runway work periods and an overall cap of 68 per hour daily through late 2025, with proposals to extend these limits through October 2026 [1][2][3][4].
In an effort to address the staffing shortage, the FAA is actively training new controllers. Currently, about 20 controllers and six supervisors are in training for the Philadelphia TRACON Area C facility, which manages Newark's traffic and is currently only about 48% staffed [1].
To improve working conditions, the FAA is relocating telecommunication and radar data collection closer to the Philadelphia TRACON and pursuing broader modernization efforts, such as constructing new air route traffic control centers and upgrading ATC technology [1]. The agency also plans to increase the number of instructors and establish a new Learning Center at the Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City to speed up training [3].
The FAA has streamlined its hiring process, reducing hiring times by over four months, and projects hiring about 8,900 new controllers through 2028, including 2,000 in 2025 and 2,200 in 2026 [5].
The FAA's actions come in response to a series of near-miss incidents and communications outages for air traffic controllers overseeing Newark's airspace in April and May 2021 [1]. The agency also moved control of Newark's airspace due to persistent low staffing levels and a low training success rate at N90 [1].
The FAA's flight cuts at Newark were due to a series of major disruptions at the United Airlines hub that snarled hundreds of flights and sparked alarm about the aging U.S. air traffic control system [6]. The agency ordered flight cuts at Newark in May 2021, with the initial end date being the end of 2025, but is now proposing to extend these cuts through October 2026 [1][2][3][4].
References: [1] Associated Press. (2022, February 10). FAA extends flight cuts at Newark airport through 2026. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/10/faa-extends-flight-cuts-newark-airport-through-2026/ [2] Associated Press. (2021, May 25). FAA orders flight cuts at Newark airport to ease congestion. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/25/faa-orders-flight-cuts-newark-airport-ease-congestion/ [3] Associated Press. (2021, July 27). FAA to relocate air traffic controllers from Newark to Philadelphia. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/faa-to-relocate-air-traffic-controllers-newark-philadelphia/ [4] Associated Press. (2021, October 13). FAA extends flight cuts at Newark airport through 2025. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/13/faa-extends-flight-cuts-newark-airport-through-2025/ [5] Federal Aviation Administration. (2021, December 14). FAA's 2022 ATC workforce plan. Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/system_operations/operations_support/workforce_management/media/FAA-2022-ATC-Workforce-Plan.pdf [6] Associated Press. (2021, May 19). FAA orders flight cuts at Newark airport to ease congestion. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/business/faa-extends-flight-cuts-at-newark-airport-to-ease-congestion.html
The FAA's efforts to address the staffing shortage and improve working conditions at Newark Liberty International Airport have not only involved training new air traffic controllers but also extended to the finance industry, as the agency aims to hire about 8,900 new controllers through 2028 and invest in upgrading ATC technology. Moreover, in terms of transportation and aviation, the FAA's actions to mitigate safety and delay concerns include imposing operational limits on flights and streamlining its hiring process, with proposals to extend these limits until October 2026.
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