The international airport in Newark, N.J., experienced another radar outage Friday, officials said, the second in two weeks after a late April blackout sparked chaos.
“There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wrote in a Friday post on social platform X.
Officials say the outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. EDT Friday and lasted approximately 90 seconds.
The FAA added that its information was preliminary and subject to change.
Air traffic controllers lost communication with planes at the Newark airport for approximately 90 seconds on April 28, leading to a series of flight delays and cancellations.
Controllers at a Philadelphia control center, who were responsible for monitoring air traffic in and out of the airport, lost radar and communication with the flights.
They were unable to “see, hear, or talk to them,” a National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesperson told The New York Times.
Three dozen flights were diverted that day, said Aidan O’Donnell, the general manager of New Jersey airports, according to the news outlet.
It’s unclear how many flights were affected by Friday’s outage.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has proposed a complete overhaul for the air traffic controller hiring process after shortages have raised safety concerns.
On Tuesday, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) released a budget reconciliation proposal that would allocate $15 billion for the modernization of air traffic control technology.
