NEWARK, N.J. — Air travel chaos continued across the U.S. on Sunday as major equipment failures at air traffic control centers in Newark and Atlanta triggered widespread delays and cancellations, grinding operations to a halt at two of the nation’s busiest airports.
At Newark Liberty International Airport, nearly 80 flights were canceled and more than 60 delayed after a morning equipment outage paralyzed operations. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a 45-minute ground stop as technicians scrambled to resolve the issue, which stemmed from a recurring problem at the Philadelphia-based TRACON facility responsible for directing traffic in and out of the New York City-area airspace.
“There was a telecommunications issue at Philadelphia TRACON Area C,” the FAA said in a statement, confirming the cause of the latest disruption. “The FAA briefly slowed aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport while we ensured redundancies were working as designed.”
While no flights were diverted as of 11 a.m., the outage came just two days after a separate radar and radio malfunction briefly suspended operations at Newark on Friday. That incident lasted only 90 seconds but forced five air traffic controllers to take leave for psychological evaluation under federal trauma protocols. A similar episode on April 28 had already placed the facility under scrutiny and severely reduced staffing levels.
Just hours after the Newark failure on Sunday, another technical fault struck Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — the busiest in the U.S. — where “runway equipment issues” halted nearly all inbound and outbound traffic.
“An equipment outage at ATL’s Air Traffic Control Tower is currently causing delays for inbound and outbound aircraft,” the FAA said in a statement to Atlanta’s 11Alive. “Technicians are working to address the problem.”
The FAA advised travelers to check with airlines and monitor ATL.com for updates on individual itineraries. Flight tracking data showed significant delays, though no diversions were immediately reported.
The dual outages arrive at a precarious moment for the national airspace system, already under pressure from ongoing staff shortages. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged the severity of the crisis during an interview Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, announcing plans to reduce flight capacity at Newark for “the next several weeks” to avoid further disruptions.
“We want to have a number of flights that, if you book your flight, you know it’s going to fly,” Duffy said. He added that all airlines operating at Newark will be summoned this week to finalize temporary capacity cuts.
Despite public concerns, Duffy maintained that flying out of Newark remains safe, though he conceded the system is outdated. “It is safe to fly,” he said. “But yes, we are operating on an old system. That’s why we’re building a new line from Newark directly to the Philly TRACON facility, which controls New York airspace.”
Duffy committed to completing that communication line by the end of the summer and announced a 20% upfront hiring bonus for new air traffic controllers as the FAA races to fill critical staffing gaps.
According to FAA data, more than 1,000 flights were canceled nationwide in recent weeks due to the staffing crisis, with ripple effects felt across the aviation sector.
