The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, cautioned Americans in May that the technical issues that recently led to hundreds of canceled and delayed flights at Newark Liberty International Airport likely won’t be the last – and could impact other airports. Newark’s technical issues date back to April 28, when over 1,000 flights were canceled after a technical issue briefly paralyzed air traffic control.
The Department of Transportation recently announced a new three-year plan to overhaul the technology American aviation relies on for safety and reliability.
“You’re dealing with really old equipment,” Duffy said. “We have to go on eBay and buy parts if one part goes down.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the airline is putting bigger planes on Newark routes to make up for flight volume limits. Kirby sought to reassure travelers about U.S. aviation safety, saying United diverted 42 aircraft to other cities in the Northeast to “maintain an even higher margin of safety” during the 90-second outage that hit Newark. “So, it’s absolutely 100% safe.”
Duffy has called for the construction of six new air traffic control centers, the replacement of more than 600 radars, and an upgrade to the agency’s obsolete telecommunications network with new fiber, wireless and satellite systems. The plan, which is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, currently has no funding. Congress must first approve and appropriate the funds to modernize the system.
Duffy denied that Elon Musk, in his role heading the Department of Government Efficiency, had asked the agency to cut air traffic controllers.
Sources: MSN, Crain’s New York Business
