tCommunications between air traffic controllers and planes in Weath, one of the busiest airports in the US, have failed in the past two weeks. The controller could not communicate with the pilot.
Thankfully, the outages have only led to massive delays, not disasters. But they also focused harsh light on sustained safety issues at over 50,000 flights per day.
As a result of the estimated 90-second communication breakdown on April 28, many air traffic controllers said they felt traumatized and that thousands of passengers suffered from hundreds of cancelled and delayed flights. A brief radar stop Friday morning brought the radar to black for another 90 seconds, highlighting the spread of the crisis.
Political leaders quickly criticized the rattle of the air traffic system. New York Sen. Charles Schumer said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was “really confused,” and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy condemned “decades of lack of investment” in air traffic control infrastructure, and “delays in modernization technology and “staffing of air traffic control.”
Ministry of Transport Inspectors have found out that of the 26 most important airports in the country, air traffic control staff are 85% below the lowest level, with many controllers being forced to work for 10 hours and six days. After the communications collapse in Newark, several air traffic controllers were shaken so badly that they went on a “traumatic holiday,” and the airport was further understaffed.
The Trump administration moved to respond quickly after an astonishing episode in Newark. On Thursday, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans to build a new, cutting-edge system that overhauls the technology used by the country’s air traffic controllers. Duffy said his plan would “replace with outdated telecommunications, new fiber, wireless and satellite technology at over 4,600 sites.”
“A lot of people say it. This issue is too complicated, too expensive, too difficult,” Duffy said Thursday. “But we’re blessed with having a president who actually loves to build and knows how to build it.”
The airlines and the air traffic controllers’ union praised Duffy’s proposal, but industry experts from several airlines expressed fear that it was insufficient, as there have been many plans in the past to modify the system. In a statement, the Hyundai Air Union, a group of industrial associations and experts, said:
The air traffic control system has gone through several tough months. In January, the commercial jet collided with an army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people in the most deadly aviation disaster in the United States since 2001.
On May 1, another Army helicopter forced two flights and canceled the area landing at Reagan Airport. Newark Airport has been struggling with a breakdown of at least two other similar communications since last August. A 2023 New York Times survey found that on average close calls involving commercial airlines occurred several times a week. This was a 12-month period on September 30th, 2023, which resulted in 503 air traffic controls.
These latest issues are part of a much older story. After the strike in 1981, “the system staffing issues began when Ronald Reagan fired more than 10,000 air traffic controllers,” said Sarah Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Crews.
“And these issues have been exacerbated by the government’s hatred and pushing for government dismantling. That’s why we got on track to where we are today. There were budget cuts and tax cuts for the rich, and everything was the training we needed to do infrastructure projects, hinder employment and training, and have a stable system.”
The country’s air navigation system has a few certified controllers of 10,800, but their association, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, says it needs to exceed 14,300. The training has over 2,000 controllers, and the union has urged the Trump administration to increase the number of pipelines. Training usually takes 18-24 months, and it can take more than three years to speed up to work at the most demanding airports like JFK and Newark.
“There’s a shortage of controllers nationwide, but not to the extent that it happens in Newark,” said Jeff Guzzetti, an industry consultant who was an investigator for the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board.
“We’ve had a lack of controllers for many years, if not decades. That shortage was exaggerated by Covid. They couldn’t carry out training new controllers. Beyond that, they had the problem of always controlling traffic, passing coursework at the training academy, and then finding the right skills with the right skills to speed up.”
Many trainees will be dropped out and will not pass the exam. Many controllers are stressful and don’t end up at work. In recent years, the number of controllers has been relatively flat. The total has declined 10% since 2012 as resignations and trainees failed to close the requirements.
“It’s not just a shortage of air traffic controllers, it’s outdated facilities, equipment and software,” Guzzetti says. Many facilities still rely on floppy disks and copper wire.
He said: “It’s all coming to the heads of New York and Newark. Newark has always been the worst in terms of staffing air traffic and modernising its equipment.”
Last September, the government’s Accountability Office said the FAA must take “urgent action” to deal with outdated air traffic control systems. He said 51 of the FAA’s 138 air traffic control systems were unsustainable.
On Thursday, Duffy did not say how much his modernization plans would cost. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure says an overhaul of air traffic control systems would cost $12.5 billion, but Duffy says his plan would cost more than that. “Decades of neglect left us with an outdated system of age indicating our age,” he said. “Building this new system is an economic and national security need.”
On May 1, Duffy announced a related plan filled with incentives saying, “recharge the air traffic controller’s workforce.” This includes a $5,000 bonus for new hires who have successfully completed their initial training.
Joseph McCultin, a labor historian at Georgetown University, wrote a book about the 1981 air traffic controller strike, but said that since Reagan fired 11,345 batting officers, “the system is out of sync.”
“The natural rhythm of the system fell apart and we never fully recovered,” he said. “We’ve improved over time, but the FAA still has significant challenges in staffing the facility.”
McCultin added: “(Elon Musk’s) Doge has made things worse. The entire system run by federal employees has become so unstable. The FAA exists in a world where this whole federal project is wobbling.”
Aviation industry analyst Robert W. Mann Jr. said that there had been a FAA reapproval approved by Congress for 40 years but had not fixed the issue. “Unless you do it right, it won’t make a difference in what you use,” he said. “The root cause cannot be resolved.”
Nevertheless, Mann said he is confident about the safety of the airline. He said: “There’s an advantage in this business. Whether you’re working for an airline or FAA, safety is the first thing to do.”
Mann said there are often delays to ensure safety on days when airports face severe air traffic controller shortages and imposed planes trying to take off as a lift in bad weather. “I’m not worried about safety,” Mann said. “But you might be worried that your flight will be four hours late.”
Nelson, president of flight attendants, said the US should thank air traffic controllers because their work is extremely difficult, stressful and important. “They should be praised for working in a collapsed system,” she said. “They’re something we all need to praise now. They’re like covid nurses who came out to 6 o’clock and pound the pot and pan.”
The big question now is whether Congress will approve money for Duffy’s ambitious modernization plan. Nelson said: “We don’t want to say we are coal mine canary, but we in the aviation industry have known for a long time.