A new fiber-optic cable has been installed to help resolve ongoing air traffic control issues at Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) in New Jersey, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday.
The cable will replace an existing telecommunications line that has failed repeatedly, leading to ATC outages that disconnected controllers from pilots at and around the airport.
“Verizon has laid a brand-new fiber line between Philadelphia and New York,” Duffy said. “That was the troubled portion of the line…We’re doing some of the connections now, and then we have to test it.”
If all goes well, he said the fiber-optic line should be ready to use by early July.
The Transportation Department also plans to install a new fiber-optic cable linking New York to Newark to replace an aging copper line. That line hasn’t had any issues so far, Duffy said, but the department is still moving forward with the upgrade to be safe.
Fixes in the Works
Newark experienced its first ATC outage on April 28. The incident left controllers with no radar or radio and set off a wave of flight delays and cancellations, made worse by construction on one of the airport’s three runways used for commercial air traffic.
At the same time, the FAA facility overseeing Newark is stretched thin. The facility was understaffed before the outage on April 28, but afterward a significant number of controllers took a leave of absence for psychological help.
Since then, the airport has operated on a reduced schedule.
Duffy said Wednesday that Newark is making progress on the closed runway and should have it running again by mid-June.
On the ATC staffing issue, Duffy said a group of controllers are being trained on operations at the Philadelphia TRACON that oversees Newark. Once those controllers are certified for the Philadelphia TRACON’s airspace, he said they can begin working shifts there, which will help alleviate the current shortage.
