2 days ago
12
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
After a series of problems at Newark Liberty International Airport, the secretary, Sean Duffy, said that he would meet with airline leaders to plan a scaling back of Newark flights.
May 11, 2025, 12:45 p.m. ET
As Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest airports, struggled with technological disruptions and staffing shortages, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned in a television interview on Sunday that more U.S. airports could face similar disruptions as the busy summer travel season approached.
Mr. Duffy, who recently announced a multibillion-dollar proposal to modernize and overhaul the country’s air traffic control system, said in the interview that he would meet with the leaders of major airlines this week to create a plan for scaling back flights at Newark. He did not offer additional details, including by how much flights could be reduced.
The comments came after an air traffic control facility that guides planes at Newark had a brief radar outage on Friday, after a similar 90-second outage at the end of last month. Another air traffic equipment outage on Sunday morning led to a ground stop for about 45 minutes for flights arriving to Newark, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The problems have resulted in major delays and cancellations, led to safety concerns for travelers and emerged as a major challenge for the Trump administration.
When asked whether it remained safe to fly out of Newark, Mr. Duffy maintained that “we are the safest airspace,” and added that he and his family regularly traveled through the airport.
Still, Mr. Duffy said that the country and Congress had not paid enough attention to improving the “antiquated systems” across major airports, and described the recent issues at Newark as a consequence of “stress on an old network.”
