FAA cuts 25% of flights at Newark airport after air traffic controller shortage and construction causes delays

By Pete Muntean, Alexandra Skores, Aaron Cooper, CNN

Washington (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration issued an order Tuesday decreasing the number of arrivals and departures allowed at Newark Liberty International Airport after weeks of delays caused by air traffic controller staffing shortages and runway construction.

The order, which goes into effect immediately, will allow 56 planes to take off and land each hour while the runway work is ongoing. The renovations are scheduled to run daily until June 15, and then on Saturdays through the end of the year.

When construction is not taking place, 68 arrivals and departures each hour will be allowed until October 25.

“Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,” Acting FAA administrator Christopher Rocheleau in a statement.

At one point, the FAA had targeted 77 total arrivals and departures at Newark each hour, but at the start of construction on April 15 they requested airlines cut that down to 70 total during the day and 62 during specific hours in the late afternoons and evenings.

Tuesday’s order to cut flights comes after a three-day “delay reduction meeting” held in Washington with airlines, the FAA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark airport.

The FAA added it will update the numbers if “capacity exists to accommodate more flights without a significant increase in delays, or that further flight reductions are necessary.”

Besides runway construction, Newark airport has been hit hard by a staffing shortage and telecommunications problems.

The air traffic control facility that handles flights arriving or departing the airport has a target of 38 “certified professional controllers,” but only has 24 on staff, the FAA said in the order cutting flights.

The 63% staffing rate took another hit on April 28 when radio communications were lost for 30 seconds and radar went blank for 90 seconds during a busy afternoon. As a result, five workers took a 45-day trauma leave.

The facility has continued to see additional telecommunication outages since then.

The FAA says plans are in place to install three new “high-bandwidth telecommunications connections,” replace copper lines and increase staffing at the facility.

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