A telecom frequency outage forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to stop all arriving flights at Newark Liberty International Airport for over an hour on Thursday. The disruption mainly affected flights landing at Newark, a major hub for United Airlines, while departures continued as usual.
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 confirmed that flights headed to Newark were put on hold, and planes already in the air were instructed to circle nearby until the issue was resolved. After about 75 minutes, arriving flights began moving again, but delays averaged nearly 2 hours and keep increasing.
This incident is the latest in a series of technical problems hitting Newark’s air traffic control. Earlier this year, in April and May, serious communication outages disrupted hundreds of flights. In response, the FAA cut flights at Newark and has considered extending those limits through late October.
Last year, the FAA moved control of Newark’s airspace to Philadelphia to ease traffic congestion and handle staffing better. They also upgraded communications technology to help avoid future outages. Still, the agency is working on adding more air traffic controllers to better manage the busy New York City-area airport.
For now, travelers heading to Newark should expect delays and check with their airlines for updates as the FAA continues to address the ongoing issues.