Newark Airport Suffers Second Radar Outage in Weeks, Causing Widespread Delays

Just days after a brief outage crippled radar and communications at Newark Liberty International Airport, a similar incident occurred on Friday morning. A telecommunications outage lasting 90 seconds impacted communications and radar displays at the Philadelphia TRACON, affecting Newark's airspace. The FAA attributes the issue to a July 2022 change consolidating radar and radio communication to a single data feed from New York. The agency plans to replace the copper connection with fiber, add high-bandwidth connections, and hire more controllers. A new backup system is also being deployed. Hundreds of flights were delayed, highlighting the airport's aging control system and staffing shortages. The stress of repeated outages led some controllers to take leave.