KOMO News is tracking flight cancellations and delays following travel issues at two of the nation’s busiest airports over the weekend.
A technical issue stopped flights in Atlanta for nearly two hours on Sunday. It came on the heels of yet another air traffic control problem at the Newark airport in New Jersey.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said he plans to reduce flight schedules at Newark until new fiber lines are installed.
In Atlanta, a runway equipment issue delayed more than 700 flights.
In New Jersey, Newark Liberty International had new air traffic control issues — the second problem in two weeks –- that prompted a 45-minute ground stop.
“I’m concerned about the whole airspace, right? The equipment that we use, much of it, we can’t buy parts for. We’re seeing stress on an old network, and it’s time to fix it,” said Duffy.
Duffy said flights at the airport will be reduced until new fiber lines are installed between Newark and Philadelphia this summer, but worries the problem could be more widespread, including radar outages and a critical shortage of air traffic controllers, down roughly 3,000 employees nationwide.
On Thursday, ghe announced 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.
But United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby insists air travel is still safe.
“It absolutely is safe at Newark and in the entire country. And the reason is, when these kind of outages happen, we train for them,” said Kirby.
The issues come as Memorial Day approaches. More than 3.6 million passengers are expected to fly, up 2% over last year.
