(Dailyexe) — Airline chief executives are poised to work with US aviation officials to throttle back more Newark airport flights, a fix that may ease short-term safety concerns but won’t solve long-term challenges.
The move comes as a key facility that routes planes into Newark suffered a second radar failure in as many weeks, making it the face of a beleaguered air-traffic system, with hundreds of flights delayed or canceled and operations snarled for days.
The Federal Aviation Administration said
talks
will be held with airline officials on May 14 in Washington. The FAA said it plans to propose limiting the airport to no more than 56 total operations per hour. “The airport clearly is unable to handle the current level of scheduled operations,” the FAA said in a notice on Friday.
Aviation officials and legislators are racing to address a crisis that’s been years in the making, thanks to outdated technology and staffing shortages.
Rattled travelers
meanwhile are avoiding Newark altogether. And the airline CEOs? They’ve had it.
No airline executive has more at stake at Newark than Scott Kirby.
Kirby, whose United Airlines Holdings Inc. operates 68% of the airport’s flights, is fed up with what he calls an untenable situation at a crucial transportation hub, with too much traffic and not enough support from the FAA.
The CEO has called out the shortage of air traffic controllers and aging technology repeatedly over the years,
saying
in 2023 that “the FAA frankly failed us.” He faulted the agency’s “ancient facilities” at an investor conference in March of this year and separately said that the network “fails frequently.” In a
memo
this week, Kirby said it’s long past time for the FAA to fix the situation in Newark.
The situation came to a head after an
alarming incident
On April 28, the Philadelphia air-traffic control center, responsible for guiding aircraft towards Newark’s airspace, experienced a loss of both radar and radio communication lasting 90 seconds. Another similar disruption occurred around midnight on Friday. Fortunately, nobody was harmed; however, United Airlines passengers have faced significant issues as a result.
From April 26 through May 6, more than 226,500 of the carrier’s passengers had their trips disrupted by flight cancellations, delays or diversions at Newark due to air-traffic control staffing and airspace restrictions, the airline said. Travelers on 1,155 delayed flights collectively spent more than 296,000 hours waiting, equal to nearly 34 years.
Newark is simply chaotic,” stated George Ferguson, a Dailyexetelligence airline analyst. Kirby aims “to improve operations at Newark as it serves as a crucial hub for them.
The airline announced that it will voluntarily reduce 35 daily flights because of the recent disruptions, following earlier reductions linked to staff shortages among controllers and ongoing construction activities at the airport. Given that Newark typically has 293 daily departures, present operations have dropped by 33% compared to historic norms.
The anticipated reductions over a 60-day span might lead to cutting around 0.5% of United’s projected second-quarter capacity, which could decrease revenues by approximately $90 million and profits by roughly $9 million, based on Ferguson’s projections.
United bears a significant cost due to the weaknesses in air traffic control more than any other airline,” stated Samuel Engel, a senior vice president at ICF and formerly the leader of the consultancy’s aviation division. “This is largely attributed to Newark and how crucial Newark is to their network as well as their earnings.
When it comes to being strongly linked with one prominent airport, few airlines compare to United’s deep-rooted relationship with Newark. This location serves not only as the airline’s biggest international hub but also plays an essential role in connecting domestic routes nationwide. Additionally, it acts as the main gateway for access to New York City.
In 2022, United concluded its limited activities at John F. Kennedy International Airport due to not reaching an accord with the FAA for expanding services there. The continuing issues at Newark might prompt inquiries into whether the airline plans to revisit JFK.
Certain travelers in New Jersey have been
rebooking
trips to bypass delays and cancellations. Kirby’s sharp remarks might echo with travelers by redirecting responsibility away from the airline.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to establishing trust, even if that involves short-term cancellations,” stated Eric Schiffer, who chairs Reputation Management Consultants Inc.
The problems with air-traffic control are worsening the situation.
already-difficult situation
for airlines this year. Domestic demand has slowed considerably amid economic worries and high-profile mishaps have made some people worry if it’s even still
safe to fly
.
United’s latest round of flight cuts are being decided on a rolling basis, depending on factors such as when customers can most easily be moved to other flights. In other cases, two flights are being combined into one or a larger aircraft is being substituted for a smaller one. The airline says it’s trying to disrupt the least number of people with the changes.
Around the middle of this month, United will decide on specific routes to be suspended at least through May 25.
Kirby, who declined to comment for this article, said in the memo this week that the FAA should take steps including limiting flights at Newark and increasing air traffic control staffing. He has expressed support for
changes
sought by US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to the nation’s air traffic system.
On Thursday, Kirby aligned himself with representatives from Delta Air Lines Inc., American Airlines Group Inc., and multiple other airlines to support the administration’s statement regarding enhancements.
Duffy’s plan, aimed at transforming the country’s air traffic infrastructure using fiber, wireless, and satellite networks within three years, did not include a particular funding request. However, he has mentioned that it would necessitate additional funds.
dozens of billions of dollars
.
Currently, the FAA lacks around 3,000 air-traffic controllers compared to their target numbers, and some current staff members report feeling overwhelmed. It’s not uncommon to hear stories about outdated equipment like copper wires and floppy disks being used regularly in control towers.
Kirby is treading carefully between criticizing the FAA regarding Newark and avoiding tension with President Donald Trump’s administration, as per Schiffer.
He needs to juggle both responsibilities while demonstrating to the public that he’s safeguarding their well-being,” Schiffer stated. “This isn’t a simple task.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer from New York was considerably blunter in evaluating the Trump administration’s current strategy.
The backup system that isn’t functioning needs to be repaired immediately,” Schumer stated on Friday. “This constitutes an urgent aviation safety crisis demanding prompt and definitive measures rather than assurances of a large-scale, splendid but unfinanced restructuring set to commence only after several years. The airspace above New York City ranks among the most congested globally. Such incidents simply cannot recur.
–Assisted by Allyson Versprille.
(Provides additional context about obsolete technology in the 24th paragraph.)
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