(CNN) Inside the multi-day meltdown at Newark airport (1 Viewer)

[Slartibartfast]

Newark airport meltdown: Inside the multi-day travel disruption | CNN

Silence. That’s the last thing an airline pilot wants to hear from air traffic control as they approach a major international airport straddling the country’s most populated city.

amp.cnn.com

FAA and air safety problems continue to get worse under the Trump administration. At this point it’s very seriously affecting at least one airport and is putting people’s safety at risk.

 

[Absentglare]

But someone told me no air traffic controllers were fired by Elon Musk so no safety could have been compromised!!

 

[Indlib]

But someone told me no air traffic controllers were fired by Elon Musk so no safety could have been compromised!!

View attachment 67568670

Brilliant meme.

 

[Allan]

Newark airport meltdown: Inside the multi-day travel disruption | CNN

Silence. That’s the last thing an airline pilot wants to hear from air traffic control as they approach a major international airport straddling the country’s most populated city.

amp.cnn.com

FAA and air safety problems continue to get worse under the Trump administration. At this point it’s very seriously affecting at least one airport and is putting people’s safety at risk.

I read that a few days ago Newark lost radar for a time and then lost radio.

That is extremely dangerous.

 

[Integrityrespec]

Newark airport meltdown: Inside the multi-day travel disruption | CNN

Silence. That’s the last thing an airline pilot wants to hear from air traffic control as they approach a major international airport straddling the country’s most populated city.

amp.cnn.com

FAA and air safety problems continue to get worse under the Trump administration. At this point it’s very seriously affecting at least one airport and is putting people’s safety at risk.

LOL, getting worse? Maybe just coming to light. Biden just had the last 4 years and didn't do a thing to update Air Traffic Control operations. Besides if you look at the incidents you will find there were plenty under the Biden admininstration.

 

[Airyaman]

LOL, getting worse? Maybe just coming to light. Biden just had the last 4 years and didn't do a thing to update Air Traffic Control operations. Besides if you look at the incidents you will find there were plenty under the Biden admininstration.

Oh?

 

[Hatuey]

Biden just had the last 4 years and didn't do a thing to update Air Traffic Control operations.

What needed updating?

Specifics please, not fanboy jargon.

 

[BitterPill]

LOL, getting worse? Maybe just coming to light. Biden just had the last 4 years and didn't do a thing to update Air Traffic Control operations. Besides if you look at the incidents you will find there were plenty under the Biden admininstration.

MSM doesn't want anyone to know, but I read traffic control blackouts were happening 4-5 times a week at Newark before Trump took over, so this is a HUGE improvement.

Thank you, Donald J Trump!

MAGA.

 

[ElChupacabra]

What needed updating?

Specifics please, not fanboy jargon.

The air traffic control technology is pretty outdated, which isn't helped by staffing issues. The issue today was ATC losing radio contact with planes due to equipment issues. This just didn't happen overnight and has been an ongoing issue, which is problematic considering how crowded the airspace is heading into Newark airport.

 

[Pyrite]

Newark airport meltdown: Inside the multi-day travel disruption | CNN

Silence. That’s the last thing an airline pilot wants to hear from air traffic control as they approach a major international airport straddling the country’s most populated city.

amp.cnn.com

FAA and air safety problems continue to get worse under the Trump administration. At this point it’s very seriously affecting at least one airport and is putting people’s safety at risk.

According to Colbert (tonight, May 6, 2025), Biden's infrastructure bill included $25 billion to repair/support airports. Unfortunately, trump's and musk's DOGE fired quite a few technicians (the people who implement updates/new equipment).

 

[Integrityrespec]

But someone told me no air traffic controllers were fired by Elon Musk so no safety could have been compromised!!

View attachment 67568670

Pretty sure they have been understaffed for 20 years. Then add to that the equipment is even older and inadequate.

 

[Integrityrespec]

According to Colbert (tonight, May 6, 2025), Biden's infrastructure bill included $25 billion to repair/support airports. Unfortunately, trump's and musk's DOGE fired quite a few technicians (the people who implement updates/new equipment).

How stupid. The FAA didn't get out of date,and understaffed in 4 months.

 

[Pyrite]

How stupid. The FAA didn't get out of date,and understaffed in 4 months.

???? Making $25 billion available to repair/support/update airports is "stupid"?

Pointing out that trump's DOGE cuts has adversely affected the repair/support/update efforts is "stupid"?

 

[Gimmesometruth]

Pretty sure they have been understaffed for 20 years.

huh, a moment ago it was Joe's fault. thanks for the update.

 

[Gimmesometruth]

How stupid. The FAA didn't get out of date,and understaffed in 4 months.

or 20 years?

 

[AliHajiSheik]

According to Colbert (tonight, May 6, 2025), Biden's infrastructure bill included $25 billion to repair/support airports. Unfortunately, trump's and musk's DOGE fired quite a few technicians (the people who implement updates/new equipment).

Do you think that this is what Mr Colbert was referring?

Link

 

[Rogue Valley]

Newark airport meltdown: Inside the multi-day travel disruption | CNN

Silence. That’s the last thing an airline pilot wants to hear from air traffic control as they approach a major international airport straddling the country’s most populated city.

amp.cnn.com

FAA and air safety problems continue to get worse under the Trump administration. At this point it’s very seriously affecting at least one airport and is putting people’s safety at risk.

This all began when president Ronald Reagan fired all air traffic controlers in 1981. The US currently has a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controlers. The US Air Traffic Controler Academy in Oklahoma City has a washout rate of 35%. Due to endemic problems at the Newark tower, a number of controlers there have now gone on "trauma leave". At the large air control facilities, stress is a job killer. At the smaller airfields, there is not enough money to be made. Most tower equipment is outdated. It is going to take a lot of money and a generous amount of time to fix our air traffic problems.

 

[Metric Mouse]

Oh?

Yeah. It's been bad. How did you not know this?

The communications breakdown last week that resulted in air traffic controllers losing radar and radio contact with the pilots of planes they were guiding into Newark Liberty International Airport has happened at least two other times since August, a current veteran controller told NBC News on Tuesday.

And at least eight or nine times in recent months, controllers lost radio contact with pilots flying into one of the nation's busiest airports, said the Newark airspace controller who asked not to be identified.

Newark air traffic control lost contact with pilots at least twice before, source says

The claims, which the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t confirmed, emerged a week after Newark airspace controllers lost all communication for as long as 90 seconds.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[NuffSaid]

LOL, getting worse? Maybe just coming to light. Biden just had the last 4 years and didn't do a thing to update Air Traffic Control operations. Besides if you look at the incidents you will find there were plenty under the Biden admininstration.

BIDEN!!!! BIDEN!!!! BIDEN!!!!!

 

[Airyaman]

Yes, Duffy is every bit as dumb as any other Trump hire.

 

[Quag]

LOL, getting worse? Maybe just coming to light. Biden just had the last 4 years and didn't do a thing to update Air Traffic Control operations. Besides if you look at the incidents you will find there were plenty under the Biden admininstration.

And Trump had 4 years before that and he didnt do a thing.
The blame goes back a long way, but its beyond critical now and the Trump administration is still not acting

 

[dcsports]

Newark airport meltdown: Inside the multi-day travel disruption | CNN

Silence. That’s the last thing an airline pilot wants to hear from air traffic control as they approach a major international airport straddling the country’s most populated city.

amp.cnn.com

FAA and air safety problems continue to get worse under the Trump administration. At this point it’s very seriously affecting at least one airport and is putting people’s safety at risk.

The outage was the result of a failure of that copper wiring that transmits information to Newark approach control, a separate source tells CNN. “There was some infrastructure breakdown related to how the information is relayed right now.”

Similar outages happened twice before, the first source notes.

Those earlier incidents were reported to the FAA safety reporting system and “adjustments were made,” which kept the systems stable until the most recent loss, they say.

How did Trump cause the wiring to fail?

 

[Logophile]

I read that a few days ago Newark lost radar for a time and then lost radio.

That is extremely dangerous.

Flying blind isn't all that uncommon. We have jets choosing to fly over Afghanistan with limited radar hand off and an even more limited option to land, because of Israel and the unrest in the ME and Russia/Ukraine. A number of airlines are more worried about an errant missile from Israel/Gaza than they are from the Taliban, lol. We have trained pilots landing in Newark that have to eyeball on occasion, so they communicate with each other as well

Airlines fly over Afghanistan as Middle East becomes the greater risk

Major airlines are now flying over Afghanistan, considering it safer than routes over the Middle East amid escalating conflicts.

www.jpost.com

​

 

[Quag]

Flying blind isn't all that uncommon. We have jets choosing to fly over Afghanistan with limited radar hand off and an even more limited option to land, because of Israel and the unrest in the ME and Russia/Ukraine. A number of airlines are more worried about an errant missile from Israel/Gaza than they are from the Taliban, lol. We have trained pilots landing in Newark that have to eyeball on occasion, so they communicate with each other as well

Airlines fly over Afghanistan as Middle East becomes the greater risk

Major airlines are now flying over Afghanistan, considering it safer than routes over the Middle East amid escalating conflicts.

www.jpost.com

​

Heck jets fly over the Atlantic and Pacific all the time, though spaced based ADS-B is helping with the radar coverage that is relatively new ther is still no place to land. What do you mean pilots landing in Newark have to eyeball on occasion? That they look out the window to land? In controlled airspace pilots dont generally speak to each other the traffic being passed by the controllers

 

[ALiberalModerate]

According to Colbert (tonight, May 6, 2025), Biden's infrastructure bill included $25 billion to repair/support airports. Unfortunately, trump's and musk's DOGE fired quite a few technicians (the people who implement updates/new equipment).

In all fairness, while yes, the infrastructure bill included money for airports, the problem is that we can't deliver anymore. The Infrastructure Bill was passed in 2021. Yet, here we are in 2025, and FAA still has the same shit air traffic control system that it has been out of date for 20 years.

Democrats are the party of good government. One of the reasons Democrats lost in 2024 is we aren't very good at actually governing anymore. Yes we passed a huge infrastracture bill, the problem is that its getting implemented at a snail's pace and the projects are way too expensive. For example, Paris can put in subway lines for less than a third of what it costs to do it in American cities. In my city, a 3.5 extension of the street car system has taken 7 years. In that amount of time, a typical European city could have added 50 miles of tram lines and a typical Chinese city could have added hundreds of new miles. Our government at all levels is slower and more inefficient than ever before and that was before the whole DOGE shitshow.