Why is US air traffic control over pressure

On April 28, air traffic controllers at the Philadelphia facility in charge of directing aircraft to and from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey faced dark radar screens and were unable to speak to the aircraft for more than a minute.

About 30 seconds continued. It took another 30 to 60 seconds until the planes appear on the radar, according to FAA.

On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it will enhance employment at the Philadelphia facility and work to repair communication lines that feed data to control units there on Newark flights. She said she plans to install a temporary backup system there “to provide repetition while switching to a more reliable fibrous network.”

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“We have computers, and I do not bothered you, today in 2025, which is based on Windows 95 tablets and flexible tablets,” Nick Daniels, head of the National Air traffic monitors Association, said in an interview with him in March.

The Federal Aviation Administration said last year that the average age of its towers is 40 and that most radar systems are close to the age of 40. “The aging facilities add a risk to the system, including the risk of service disturbances,” he said.

On Thursday, the plan revealed by Duffy called for the replacement of 618 reads and the construction of six new centers for air traffic control centers, in addition to installing new systems of optical and wireless fibers and satellites to replace old communication systems.

Newark already deals with space restrictions to start.

I dealt with about 414,000 flights last year, or 11 % less than John F. Airport. Kennedy International, in Queens, New York, according to its operator’s data, which is the New York Port Authority and New Jersey. But Newark is about half of JFK.

Technological defects and employment lack were particularly difficult for Newark in recent days. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) transferred control units dealing with the Newark from the Long Island facility, New York – where aircraft are also sequenced to and from Laguardia and JFK Airport in Queens – to a remote station in Philadelphia. The move was aimed at relieving crowding and pressing the Long Island facility, but there are still problems.

Duffy said the air travel is safe. After visiting the Philadelphia facility after April 28, he said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would slow down, if not, their arrival completely if there is a shortage of air traffic monitors.

United CEO, Kirby, told employees on Wednesday that flying to and from Newark was safe. He said that the passenger pilots have thousands of hours of experience and training in procedures “following up the re -communication if radio contacts are lost to move safely to its destination.”

Airlines sought power boundaries to help crowding, and the last turmoil was no exception.

Kirby said in a memo to employees: “United has been urging the United States government for years * to use its authority to reduce the number of flights to what the airport can deal realistically.” “The past failure in making these changes has led to the circumstances they united, and most importantly, our customers are now facing.”

In 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration was reduced by airport’s aircraft restrictions, and Kirby said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should return to the previous rules.

“It is time for a long time to treat EWR like the crown jewel,” he told employees in the Wednesday note using the airport code. “We will continue to work closely with the FAA and (Transport Division) to repair EWR once and forever and we offer the country the first -class air traffic system.”

The United States has about 10,800 air traffic monitors, which is less than the target of full recruitment by 3000, according to the Union of Observers, Natca.

“Over the past eight years, we have had 146,000 applicants and we have rented 7905 of these,” said Chris Wilbanks, deputy head of the mission in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “Less than 10 % of people applying for a job actually arrive at the Oklahoma Training Academy and then go out to the field.”

In the previous fiscal year, the FAA goal was to employ 1,800 control units.

“We will lose 35 % of those in the academy. We will lose another 20 % once they reach this field, in training on work. So we do not focus on 1,800 console,” Wilbanks said.

The arduous job requires that air traffic monitors retire at the age of 56, and the applicants to the academy cannot be greater than 30 years. Many are forced to work for six days at work due to a shortage.

Duffy has recently moved to increase financial incentives, such as high wages against air traffic watchers. Daniels of the Federation said the start is about $ 45,000, although the average payment against the US air traffic controller is 144,580 dollars annually, according to the US Department of Labor.