Latest news with #NewarkLibertyAirport
Fox News
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Fox News
Travel nightmare unfolds as storm system grounds East Coast flights ahead of July 4
Flights across the country were halted Tuesday as severe thunderstorms were expected to batter the East Coast, affecting millions of travelers close to the holiday weekend. Ground stops and delays were issued at Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in the New York City area, as well as at airports in Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Orlando, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Scattered storms, excessive rainfall and flooding were expected in the northeast, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. The NWS expects up to three inches of rain along the East Coast. On Monday, Newark Liberty Airport, which has been plagued by disruptions due to ongoing staffing shortages, experienced delays of a whopping four hours due to thunderstorms, with the interruptions expected to affect flights until 2 a.m. Philadelphia International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport began experiencing delays this week, with bad weather continuing to wreak havoc on flights as they moved through the area. Collectively, five airports logged about 600 cancellations and 1,900 delays, according to data from FlightAware. LaGuardia Airport had about 180 flights canceled and 400 delayed, according to the site. Tuesday's expected storms come as many people are flying out of major airport hubs or driving ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend. A flood watch was in effect for the Washington, D.C., area, and heavy rains were expected in New York City.
Associated Press
20-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Air traffic controllers in Florida briefly lost radar after fiber optic line was cut
Air traffic controllers in Florida briefly lost their radar Friday after a fiber optic line was cut, but the outage didn't appear to lead to significant disruptions like what happened after similar outages around the Newark, New Jersey, airport this spring. Controllers were able to continue directing planes across five states in the Southeast because a backup system kicked in as designed. The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar center in Jacksonville, Florida, continued operating but on alert status because its primary communication line went down. A contractor was working on repairing the severed fiber line Friday afternoon. Authorities didn't specify what caused the severed fiber line or where it happened. The FAA didn't say exactly how long the radar was offline, but when air traffic controllers in a different facility in Philadelphia lost radar twice this spring it took 90 seconds for their systems to reboot after the system went down. Those incidents led to major disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey because five controllers went on trauma leave after those outages, and that facility in Philadelphia directs planes in and out of the airport. Hundreds of flights had to be cancelled in Newark because the remaining controllers couldn't safely handle every flight on the schedule. Operations at that airport have since improved significantly An FAA spokesperson said there was 'no loss of critical air traffic service' in Jacksonville because the backup system kicked in. That center is responsible for planes flying across roughly 160,000 square miles of airspace across most of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. The problems in Newark were blamed on the failure of aging copper wires that much of the nation's air traffic control system still relies on. Transportation officials said the Newark problems demonstrated the need for a multi-million-dollar overhaul of the system that they are lobbying Congress to approve.
The Independent
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Premium insurance demand surges across the world amid travel disruptions
Travel disruptions are on the rise, leading leisure travellers to be more selective about their insurance coverage, while businesses seek specialist advice to mitigate risks. Since 2019, a series of events, including Covid-19, extreme weather, volcanic eruptions, military conflicts, jet safety concerns, computer malfunctions, and airport fires, have caused widespread travel disruptions, grounding planes and stranding millions. In the United States, air traffic controller shortages and outdated technology have contributed to significant disruptions. In May, Newark Liberty Airport, a major hub serving New York City, experienced flight cancellations, diversions, and delays due to equipment outages, runway construction, and staffing shortages. Recently, an attack by Israel on Iran led to the cancellation or diversion of thousands of flights to avoid conflict in the Middle East. Many insurance policies have numerous exemptions in the fine print. Consequently, travellers are opting for higher-end insurance policies, often with higher premiums, to ensure better protection, according to insights from travel executives, insurance companies, and analysts. "We're in times that are quite unstable so people are cancelling more frequently than previously," said Duncan Greenfield-Turk, CEO of Global Travel Moments, a luxury travel agency based in London. European tourists have increased their purchases of travel insurance for this summer by three per cent compared with last year, according to German insurer Allianz Partners. Squaremouth, the largest travel insurance marketplace in the US, has seen a 34 per cent year-over-year increase globally in purchases of "Cancel For Any Reason" protection. British and US holidaymakers in particular are more willing to pay a higher premium to protect their trip, said Anna Kofoed, the CEO of Travel for Allianz Partners. About 32 per cent more travellers globally requested an insurance quote from January to April compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from online travel insurance broker InsureMyTrip. Businesses seek travel advice There has also been a rise in demand for bespoke travel advice as US President Donald Trump has announced a number of immigration-related restrictions including tighter visa vetting procedures and travel bans. World Travel Protection (WTP), a global firm that advises businesses on travel risk, said it has seen a rise in US residents being detained at US borders and told their documents were no longer valid as visa rules were changing. WTP has worked with US government representatives to help those individuals return home, according to Frank Harrison, the company's regional security director for the Americas. "We're seeing a very strong uptick in organizations coming to us wanting to know how to navigate the landscape of the US within the wider business," Harrison said. CIBT, which provides non-legal visa and immigration guidance, has seen a 50 per centrise in inquiries since November from companies seeking to better prepare their employees for travel to the US, according to CEO Steven Diehl. High-end insurance products emerge One of the newest areas of business is in parametric insurance, which pays compensation automatically after a "trigger" event such as a flight delay without the need to file a claim. Parametric insurance took off in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and in recent months more insurers around the world have begun to offer it. When testing the market last year, Spanish insurer Mapfre's Mawdy unit in Ireland said about 11 per cent more customers opted for higher-tier travel insurance packages when instant compensation was included. Travel destinations have also spotted an opportunity in this burgeoning market. Marriott Bonvoy's villa rentals and waterparks offer parametric weather insurance at the point of booking, automatically paying out on rainy days. Sensible Weather, one of the providers of such coverage, reported its weather guarantees were added to 30 per cent of theme park bookings and 10–15 per cent of higher-value accommodation bookings when they were offered in 2024. In March, Squaremouth launched a new insurance product with cruise-specific benefits such as coverage for being confined on a cruise ship or missing the port of call. "Everyone is trying to make it easier for people to understand that each trip (...) is going to have a different set of concerns whether it's hurricanes or blizzards or what's going on with air traffic controllers," Suzanne Morrow, CEO of online insurance broker InsureMyTrip told Reuters.
Mint
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
‘No right to visit United States': Embassy warns US will not tolerate illegal entry after Newark airport viral video
The US Embassy stated on Tuesday that while the United States continues to welcome legitimate travelers, it 'cannot and will not tolerate' illegal entry or the misuse of visas. The message was shared in a brief statement posted on X. 'The United States continues to welcome legitimate travellers to our country. However, there is no right to visit the United States. We cannot and will not tolerate illegal entry, abuse of visas, or the violation of US law,' it said. The statement from the U.S. Embassy comes amid the circulation of a viral video and images showing an Indian student handcuffed and pinned to the floor at Newark Liberty Airport before his alleged deportation. The footage appears to show two individuals restraining the student on the ground. In response, the Indian Consulate General in New York stated on Monday that it is in contact with local authorities regarding the incident. "We have come across social media posts claiming that an Indian national is facing difficulties at Newark Liberty International Airport. We are in touch with local authorities in this regard. The Consulate remains ever committed to the welfare of Indian Nationals," the post said. The video, posted online by an Indian-American social entrepreneur Kunal Jain, shows the Indian man pinned to the ground by Port Authority Police and being handcuffed. 'This poor kid's parent won't know what's happening to him. @IndianEmbassyUS @DrSJaishankar he was to be boarded last night in the same flight with me but he never got boarded. Someone needs to find out what's going on with him at New Jersey authorities. I found him disoriented,' Jain said in his post.
CBC
16-05-2025
- General
- CBC
What's going on with air traffic control in the U.S.? Here are the facts
A series of alarming technical outages affecting Newark Liberty International Airport in the past few weeks have many asking what exactly happened, and whether it's even safe to fly in the U.S. anymore. An air traffic control facility in charge of airspace around the airport has suffered three communications outages in two weeks, including a 90-second radar and communications blackout on Friday. Then on Monday, an outage affected a control facility in Denver. None of the incidents caused planes to collide or crash. But no one is downplaying the seriousness of what happened, or the threat to safety it represents. What actually happened at Newark airport When a plane is in the process of taking off or landing, air traffic controllers in the airport's tower are in charge. Since it's a tower, they can physically see the planes they are controlling, as well as using radar and radio systems. But a different group of air traffic controllers is in charge when a plane has already taken off and is ascending, or when it's descending toward the airport but not yet on final approach. They direct all the planes that are airborne and near airports. Because of the distances, these controllers can't see the planes. They rely exclusively on radar screens and radio communications to know where the planes are. Their facility is technically known as a TRACON, which stands for terminal radar approach control. The TRACON for Newark used to be on Long Island, but last year the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration moved it to Philadelphia, in part because the high cost of living in the New York area was making it hard to attract staff. Data from Newark airport and nearby radar sites is sent via a telecommunications line to the Philadelphia TRACON, which shows up on the controllers' screens. That telecommunications line is what failed twice in the past three weeks, for about 90 seconds at a time, along with a third, unspecified outage on Sunday. That meant the controllers didn't know where the planes were, and couldn't talk to the pilots over radio. The airspace the TRACON controls could have contained dozens of planes at any given time, many at similar altitudes. Not knowing exactly where they were could lead to a catastrophic collision. There was no catastrophe, but the experience was so traumatizing that at least five controllers went on stress leave. In response to the outages, airport officials cut the number of flights going in and out. That caused lasting delays and cancellations. So the same thing happened in Denver on Monday? Similar, but it's not clear yet if it was the same. This is a third type of air traffic control facility called an ARTCC (air route traffic control centre). The controllers there are responsible for guiding planes that are cruising, usually at high altitude, and flying over areas but not landing. The Denver ARTCC lost communications for about 90 seconds. Similar to the Newark TRACON, it appears the controllers couldn't see the planes they were responsible for on their radar screens. In this case, however, they used a backup frequency to communicate with pilots. The FAA is investigating what happened, but it's not yet known whether it was a failure of a telecommunications line like in Newark. What's being done about it Newark airport is now handling fewer flights, in part because the communications problems are compounded by chronic under staffing, meaning many controllers are overworked. The FAA said it is increasing air traffic controller staffing, adding three new high-bandwidth telecommunications connections, and deploying a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia TRACON as it switches to a more reliable fibre optic network. The FAA employs about 14,000 controllers nationwide, but says it need to hire at least 3,500 more. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also said billions of dollars need to be spent on upgrades to air traffic control systems across the country in the next three to four years. Newark air traffic controllers lost contact with planes, union confirms 10 days ago Duration 1:43 Newark airport air traffic controllers briefly lost radar contact and communication with several planes under their watch last month, their union has confirmed. Chaos has gripped the airport for two weeks, causing ripple effects across the U.S. Is flying even safe now in the U.S.? Duffy says flying is safe, but also says improvements are needed urgently. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, which uses Newark far more than any other airline, said on Monday that all flights in and out of there are "absolutely safe." But many passengers aren't so sure. Some have vowed to avoid Newark from now on.
