Y’all. This keeps getting more and more unpleasant. They had THREE air traffic controllers on duty instead of the 14 needed. THREE. So not only are they having system troubles, but they don’t have enough people to work. Remember, they have people on leave because their systems went down the first time for far too long. The systems went down a second time for 90 seconds.
So now not only have their antiquated systems crapped out more than once, they don’t have enough people to work. How are those people going to feel after having dealt with a complete loss a SECOND TIME? I’m just stunned at how things went south so quickly. Is this shortage going on across the nation, and we haven’t heard about it? Whether yes or no, Newark needs help, and needs it FAST. Is there even someone willing to relocate to be able to help?
ATC’s going through some *very* intense training for that work. And I mean *intense*. After that, they sit in with actual ones to see how it works in “real life”. It seems to me that after what’s made the news, and what hasn’t, people would be rethinking this as a choice of careers. It’s unsettling to consider how many people’s lives they would be holding in their hands and heads. You need to be very, very strong to do this. Many things could go wrong, as we’ve seen.
Oops, I should have read further down in the article before I started writing about this. I just found out something else I didn’t know about. That’s disconcerting! (And a bit embarrassing.)
New Jersey’s Newark Liberty airport, one of three major airports serving New York City, had just three air traffic controllers on duty on Monday, which was well short of the 14 called for and forced air regulators to delay arriving flights for up to seven hours.
The air traffic controller shortfall, first reported by the New York Times, comes amid a growing number of problems for the hub. In a little more than a week, Newark has suffered three communications blackouts, rendering the control tower unable to track or communicate with planes for up to 90 seconds.
The most recent failure, on Sunday morning, came as government and airline officials have made multiple efforts to reassure airline passengers that flying into or out of the airport is safe.
But on Monday evening, during the 3 pm to 10 pm shift, the group that manages Newark air traffic from Philadelphia was operating with one or two fully certified controllers, the outlet reported – far fewer than the 14 controllers agreed on between the controllers’ union and air traffic control regulators.
Ouch! Three occurrences? One or two fully certified controllers? OUCH. How they managed to keep quiet about the third failure, I have no idea. Yea, it just keeps getting worse and worse. Now, there is an overall shortage of about 3,000 ATCs. But you can’t rush their training and worry that something could be missed. It’s just not a good idea. I would hope some of the trainees want to help sooner rather than later, but still, you can’t just abbreviate or skip through some of the training needed. When you hold people’s lives in your hands, you want to make *certain* that the training and nesting is done properly. (Nesting being that which the new ATCs sit with an experienced controller to watch and learn how it really works in “real life”. I find that to be a descriptive phrase.)
“Operations have returned to normal.’’
That came after Duffy announced plans to reduce the number of flights arriving and departing from Newark for the “next several weeks” and would meet with the airport’s major carriers to discuss the issues. Flight reductions, he said, would target the hours when international flights arrive.
The problems at Newark appear to be related to copper wiring at Philadelphia Tracon Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark airspace. Tracon is an acronym for Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility.
The FAA has installed new fiber optic lines at Newark Airport and New York’s Kennedy and LaGuardia airports to replace copper wires. But the plan is to spend the next two weeks testing those new lines out before switching over to them.
A spokesperson for Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary during Joe Biden’s presidency, said tRump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “needs to spend more time doing what the American people are paying him to do – fix problems – and less time blaming others.”
Well, at least we know that some of the equipment problems are going to be fixed soon. And maybe, just maybe, Duffy will stop blaming the Biden administration for every problem. Maybe Duffy will do his JOB. In the meantime, we do have ATCs in training. So, the lack of properly trained people will be at least partially fixed down the pike. I would say we do have some positive “repairs” in the wings. I would still fly in and out of there. I have that much faith in them. Thanks for sticking with me!
*****And now, please read ******
Zoomers, we are always in need of donations. It’s been an especially rough month, and my own health has not been great these past few weeks, which just adds to the frustration. Anything you can spare will be immensely appreciated. And thank you to all who have donated generously already. Ursula
On my last driver’s license renewal, I declined RealID, so I am happy to say that I am effectively prohibited from boarding a commercial death trap, err… airplane.
I’m real glad you have faith in the reports about the problems gettting fixed, Susan! If reducing the number of flights coming in and out of Newark FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS is a solution to one of the three biggest airports serving NYC is an actual solution, THAT scares me right there! Do the other hubs have to take in those planes that aren’t going into Newark??? Does that put THOSE ATCs under extreme stress? And what’s this about keeping open channels for international flights? So tRump’s Saudi buds can make it in for the dinner and White House Tour? Maybe THAT’s what needs to be postponed!! We might not have been I this crisis if, once again, tRump and MuskRAT didn’t fire half the people at the FAA with a chainsaw. The crisis is far from over!