Air traffic control system must be improved to prevent problems like Newark airport, officials say
The problems that disrupted flights at New Jersey 's largest airport this spring could be repeated anywhere across the country, so Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to sell Congress on his plan to overhaul the nation's air traffic control system that will cost 'tens of billions.'
Duffy provided an update Wednesday on the repairs and staffing efforts that are underway to help eliminate the problems affecting Newark Liberty International Airport, which has been running more smoothly in the past few weeks since the airlines started to cut the number of flights they operate there.
And Duffy emphasized that the Newark radar outages and air traffic control shortage are a prime example of why the antiquated system needs to be improved.
'I'm concerned that we could have more Newarks. And again, why it's so important that we actually begin this build with the money that Congress is going to send us,' he said.
Duffy still wouldn't give a price tag of his expansive overhaul of the air traffic control system that he said is clearly needed after the deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., in January that killed 67 people and all the problems affecting Newark this spring. But he said the $12.5 billion the House included President Donald Trump 's massive bill won't be enough because 'it's going to be tens of billions of dollars.'
Duffy has been meeting privately with lawmakers since he unveiled the plan. But he said he wants to let Congress 'do the dance the way the Congress dances' to develop a plan to pay for the program.
Problems ease at Newark airport
The problems that led to hundreds of cancellations and delays at Newark do seem to have improved since the Federal Aviation Administration limited the number of flights at the airport so they could handle it with the number of controllers available. The already short-staffed air traffic control facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark lost five controllers to trauma leave after the first radar and communications outage on April 28 and another one is out on medical leave.
That left the facility with only 16 certified controllers and five supervisors. But Duffy said there are another 16 experienced controllers in training that he hopes will start to get certified between now and October.
That is an example of how the FAA remains about 3,000 short on the number of air traffic controllers it wants, so Duffy has also tried to speed up the hiring and training process while offering incentives to keep experienced controllers from retiring early.
The FAA has said that it expects to be able to bump up the number of flights daily in Newark to 34 arrivals and 34 departures once a runway construction project is completed in mid-June. That is also about the time that some of the controllers on a 45-day trauma leave might be scheduled to return. The FAA will revisit the limits in October because it hopes to have more controllers trained by then.
The government also upgraded the software at the air traffic control facility after a second radar outage on May 9. That helped prevent a repeat problem on May 11.
FAA addresses telecommunications problems
The FAA is also working on the telecommunications problems. Duffy said Verizon worked quickly to install a new fiber optic line between Philadelphia and New York over the past month, but the FAA wants to thoroughly test it out before switching over, so that likely won't be available until July. After that, the FAA plans to also improve the lines between New York and the Newark airport because some of them are still copper wires.
'Clearly something wasn't going right when we experienced these outages,' acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau said. 'Right now, part of this effort, part of this initiative, is to ensure we're acting with decisiveness, right — with focus — to make sure the lines get in, to make sure those redundancies are put in, to make sure the controllers have the tools they need to make the system safe, to operate safely.'
In the meantime, Duffy said it would be a good idea for pilots to brush up on their procedures of how to handle an outage because they can happen. In addition to the problems in Newark, controllers in Denver lost their radios for a couple minutes earlier this month. Duffy said there were also several other outages affecting Newark last year that didn't get public attention.
'We have to look at the real world around us and some of the issues that come up and make sure we are brushed up and ready to go, should there be a brief outage," Duffy said. "And again, that there's a lot of redundancy and a lot of procedures that keep people safe should this happen.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
43 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Senate Republicans scrambling to pass tax-and-spend bill by Trump deadline
The US Senate is preparing for a key procedural vote Saturday as Republicans race to pass Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his Fourth of July deadline. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all Republican senators are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8tn in Trump tax breaks. Before the expected vote to advance the measure, the White House released a statement saying it 'strongly supports passage' of the bill that 'implements critical aspects' of the president's agenda. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with Republican senators, including one of the holdouts, Rand Paul of Kentucky. 'It's time to get this legislation across the finish line,' the Senate majority leader, John Thune, said. The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through the days ahead with hours of potentially all-night debate and countless amendments. Senate passage could be days away, and the bill would need to return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. With the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board in the face of essentially unified opposition from Democrats. Elon Musk, the billionaire Trump donor who came out in strong opposition to the House version of the bill, denounced the Senate draft on his social media platform, X, on Saturday. 'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!' Musk wrote above a comment from a green energy expert who pointed out that the bill raises taxes on new wind and solar projects. 'Utterly insane and destructive,' Musk added. 'It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.' Bernie Moreno, the Republican senator from Ohio, opened the day's session with an impassioned defense of the package that he said had been misrepresented by its critics. 'Read it for yourself,' he said. Senate Democrats intend to do just that, with the minority leader, Chuck Schumer, announcing on social media Saturday afternoon that his party will force the entire bill to be read aloud before a final vote on passage can take place. Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer said Republicans had released the bill 'in the dead of night' and were rushing to pass it before the public fully knows what's in it. The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic-policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up, even as he sometimes gives mixed signals, allowing for more time. At recent events at the White House, including on Friday, Trump has admonished the 'grandstanders' among GOP holdouts to fall in line. 'We can get it done,' Trump said in a social media post. 'It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country.' The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350bn to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion But the spending cuts that Republicans are relying on to offset the lost tax revenues are causing dissent within the GOP ranks. Some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving healthcare through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives worried about the nation's debt are pushing for steeper cuts. Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said he remains concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. Rand Paul has opposed the measure on the grounds that it will raise the nation's debt limit by $5tn. And Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican pushing for deeper cuts, said he needed to see the final legislative text. The release of that draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the bill to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict 'Byrd rule', which bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 Republican edge, and Democrats unified against Trump's bill. Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals were determined to be out of compliance by the chief arbiter of the Senate's rules. One plan would have shifted some food stamp costs from the federal government to the states; a second would have gutted the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them. The final text includes a proposal for cuts to a Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary objections and opposition from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25bn fund to aid rural hospitals and providers. Most states impose the provider tax as a way to boost federal Medicaid reimbursements. Some Republicans argue that is a scam and should be abolished. The nonpartisan congressional budget office has said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without healthcare and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The CBO has not yet publicly assessed the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions. Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce spark Swiftie fury after posing with 'MAGA' stars: 'Where is her self-respect?'
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have sparked a meltdown among her fanbase after they were seeing hanging out with the 'MAGA' co-hosts of 'Bussin' With The Boys'. The popular show is presented by former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan and earlier this week they posted a picture alongside the power couple. 'Confirmed: Taylor Swift is FOR THE BOYS,' they captioned the picture on social media. But the viral image has caused fury among Swifties, one of whom asked: 'Where the f*** is her self-respect?' Donald Trump appeared on 'Bussin With The Boys' ahead of last year's election and the ex-NFL stars were even given a shoutout during his victory celebrations. Dana White namechecked the podcast for helping propel Trump to victory over Kamala Harris. Back in 2023, Compton and Lewan were also seen shaking hands with the president at a UFC event. Now, Swift's decision to be pictured with the co-hosts has prompted a furious reaction on social media. 'You are who you surround yourself with,' one Swiftie wrote, while another accused the singer of having 'zero self-respect.' 'When ICE is abducting people from the streets , this is who she chooses to align herself with,' they said. 'Show me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are,' added another. Swift publicly endorsed Harris ahead of last year's election, while Trump has made clear his dislike for the singer. 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!' he wrote on social media last year before attacking her again in recent weeks. 'Has anyone noticed that, since I said "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT," she's no longer "HOT?"' the president wrote. Those comments have not been forgotten by her fans in the light of her picture with 'Bussin With The Boys'. 'The fact that she still associates with people who are MAGA when Trump himself has personally attacked her…. where the f*** is her self-respect,' one asked. 'Imagine being rich enough to make the world a slightly better place... then actively choosing to surround yourself with these thugs instead,' another added. 'What a waste.' Swift and Kelce have been together in Nashville over recent days, with the Chiefs star been hosting his annual 'Tight End University'. The singer even performed during the event, sending fans wild with a rendition of 'Shake It Off'. San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle, who hosts the event with Kelce, lifted the lid on her surprise cameo. 'Taylor could not have been kinder, more nice, and she was like, "I think it might be fun to go sing 'Shake It Off'". And we were like, "It'd be amazing. Twist my arm, Taylor, please,"' he said. Speaking to Fox News Digital , Kittle added: 'She was fantastic. For the venue that, I think, it was maybe 1,000 people, that was the loudest 1,000 people I've ever heard in my entire life. It was an incredible experience.'
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Don't dismiss Elon Musk's Doge so fast: we can learn from its failure
History won't be kind to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). As failed, expensive experiments go, it's up there with HS2 or 'Tay,' Microsoft's much-hyped AI chatbot that, within hours of launching in 2016, morphed spectacularly into a racist troll. Doge initially pledged to slice $2 trillion from federal spending — a bravado-fuelled ambition that was swiftly halved and then repeatedly whittled down until landing at a relatively underwhelming $150 billion. Even this revised sum relies on some fairly questionable assumptions and shaky accounting. Some independent commentators suggest the real savings hover close to zero, especially once the anticipated tsunami of lawsuits — or the burden of haphazardly dismantled departments limping on dysfunctionally — are factored in. The Department of Government Efficiency will, ironically, be remembered for its inefficiency. Yet, oddly enough, I remain rather enamoured with the concept. Just as high-speed rail doesn't have to degenerate into a bloated money pit bereft of trains, and AI chatbots needn't transform into spiteful bigots, the basic idea behind Musk's ill-fated initiative holds merit. The execution may have flopped, but the underlying model of applying a private sector mindset to government spending and bureaucracy deserves resurrection. History is full of promising ideas that tanked the first time around. Bubble Wrap, for example, originally intended as textured wallpaper, languished unsold until IBM adopted it in the 1960s for protecting computer components. The billions of Post-it Notes sold annually began life inauspiciously in 1968 as a glue deemed too weak for aerospace engineering, only to find new purpose in the 1980s. One of Doge's many glaring oddities was that, despite being overseen by one of the world's most successful corporate CEOs, its cost-cutting approach was remarkably un-corporate. Most jobs — even those which are poorly performed, vulnerable to automation, or submerged in bureaucratic sludge —were originally created for a valid reason. This explains why corporate belt-tightening almost always ends rather than begins with job cuts. CEOs and CFOs typically look at expenses before wielding the axe, scrutinising discretionary spending first — travel, events, equipment — and cutting back hours or trimming temporary hires. Full-time roles are usually the last domino to fall. Musk flipped that sequence, firing up the chainsaw without any evident due diligence or sober analysis. This wasn't the sort of disruption or iconoclastic thinking for which Silicon Valley has become famed, just muddled recklessness. Over here, taxpayers' money continues to be splurged on an array of baffling pursuits. This year, these have included a £99 million initiative devoted to teaching overseas families to 'cook with electricity', including in places where basic infrastructure — and electrical cooking appliances — are lacking. • Outgoing head of Reform's 'Doge' urges party to avoid Musk's mistakes Then there's the £1 million grant to the Open University, which made the news last month, funding a two-year project to encourage students to 'touch as a mole' and feel 'like a bee'. Given the same amount would pay for 20 police constables for a year, I'm fairly certain that wastefulness could be identified without requiring a Musk-style wrecking ball approach. Right now, injecting disciplined private-sector thinking into governmental budgeting feels not just sensible, but necessary. Rachel Reeves's recent spending review has dramatically opened the purse strings, with departmental budgets growing by 2.3 per cent — the neck end of an additional £200 billion allocated to daily public-sector operations. I don't find the spending itself inherently problematic. Rather, I worry about who within the current government has earned genuine credibility managing substantial sums prudently or, indeed, could be trusted to implement rigorous cost controls to offset the increased largesse. In this regard, I believe there are plenty of highly talented figures from the world of business, with proven track records, who would bring more experience, expertise and, in all likelihood, results than the government could muster. • Fraser Nelson: Elon Musk's Doge debacle has done us all a favour How about someone like Sir Terry Leahy, who streamlined Tesco? His brand of operational efficiency relied heavily on automation, data analytics, and smart technology as well as lean logistics. Or Sir Stuart Rose, under whose leadership M&S developed more prudent supply chain management, stricter inventory controls and a better ability to negotiate more favourable terms with suppliers? Perhaps once Dame Carolyn McCall steps down from ITV? Diplomatic and a good communicator, she has credentials in turning around, and modernising, businesses in the public eye. Musk might have inadvertently given efficiency a bad name but his version of Doge should be regarded as a flawed prototype rather than proof of a dud concept. Having had a helpful case study of 'how not to do it', perhaps it's time for someone to do it properly. Seema Shah is chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management
