NEWARK, N.J. (TNND) — The air traffic control system that guides planes in and out of the Newark, New Jersey, airport went down overnight for the second time in two weeks.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar at the Philadelphia facility went down on Friday for around 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m.
On April 28, the radar outage led to hundreds of canceled flights and delays at the Newark Liberty International Airport. The FAA slowed down traffic to ensure safety.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday that the nation’s aging air traffic control system will get a multibillion-dollar overhaul.
The plan calls for six new air traffic control centers, along with technology and communications upgrades at all of the nation’s air traffic facilities over the next three years.
Additionally, the administration wants to add fiber, wireless, and satellite technology at more than 4,600 locations, replace 618 radars, and increase the number of airports with systems designed to reduce near misses on runways.
“Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age. Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now,” Duffy said. “The unprecedented coalition of support we’ve assembled – from labor to industry – is indicative of just how important it is to this administration to get done what no one else could. The American people are counting on us, and we won’t let them down.”
The plan for upgrades comes after a deadly midair crash over the Potomac River in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people.
