As John Amato wrote, it’s not a safe time to fly! Air traffic controllers who lost communication with aircraft at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, leading to hundreds of delays for more than a week, are taking special government leave for traumatic situations to recover from the stress. Via CNN:
The controllers in Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which coordinates planes arriving at Newark, “temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them,” on Monday April 28, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a statement shared with CNN.
The connectivity between Federal Aviation Administration radar and the frequencies that air traffic controllers use to manage planes flying in and out of the airport “completely failed,” a source with knowledge of the situation said.
At least five FAA employees took 45 days of leave as a result of the incident, sources tell CNN.
On Monday, the FAA acknowledged that inadequate staffing and the agency’s “antiquated air traffic control system” is affecting its workforce.
