FAA: Newark fixed, system strained

The Federal Aviation Administration says the outage problem that snarled Newark flights has been addressed, but the wider U.S. air traffic system is still under strain. (faa.gov) (fox4news.com) Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on April 22 he is asking Congress for $10 billion for the next phase of air traffic control upgrades. That request follows $12.5 billion Congress approved last year for aging equipment and controller staffing shortages. (fox4news.com) (faa.gov) The Newark fix centers on the system that links New York and the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, the facility that sequences planes into and out of Newark. In July 2025, the FAA said it switched that route to a new fiber-optic network with two separate communications paths so equipment could keep working if one path failed. (transportation.gov) (faa.gov) Newark had become a symbol of how brittle the network had gotten. During a May 9, 2025 outage, controllers handling Newark traffic lost radar and communications for about 90 seconds, and FlightAware counted 246 delays and 66 cancellations there by late morning. (gulfcoastnewsnow.com) (faa.gov) The FAA did not rely on the cable fix alone. It also capped Newark operations in 2025, then extended those limits through October 24, 2026, while raising the hourly cap from 68 to 72 flights. (faa.gov 1) (faa.gov 2) Those limits were tied to staffing and equipment problems, plus runway construction that had already reduced capacity. The FAA’s June 2025 order set the airport at 28 arrivals and 28 departures per hour during construction periods, then 34 arrivals and 34 departures outside them. (faa.gov 1) (faa.gov 2) Duffy’s larger pitch is that the national system still runs on hardware and software built for another era. The Transportation Department’s 2025 overhaul plan called for replacing telecommunications at more than 4,600 sites, adding 25,000 radios and 475 voice switches, replacing 618 radars, and building six new air traffic control centers. (transportation.gov) He told Reuters the new money would go heavily toward software that can better spread flights through crowded airspace and reduce disruptions. Fox 4, citing Reuters, reported U.S. hubs still logged 1,762 delays and 46 cancellations on April 21 and 22 even after Newark’s communications work. (fox4news.com) The FAA has also said Newark’s controller pipeline improved after the worst disruptions. In July 2025, the agency said the Philadelphia facility handling Newark traffic had 22 fully certified controllers, five fully certified supervisors, and 25 controllers and supervisors in training. (transportation.gov) The next test is in Congress. Newark’s outage may be contained, but the administration is arguing that the same kind of weak links still sit across a national network that handles thousands of flights a day. (fox4news.com) (transportation.gov)