Lawmakers spoke out to Fox News Digital on Tuesday as chaos ensued at one of the nation’s busiest airports.
“Our team has reached out to the FAA to get answers on what steps they’re taking to resolve this situation,” said Sen. Andy Kim, a Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee — who also represents the Garden State where the airport is located.
“Your family deserves to know that when you fly, you’ll be safe and you’ll get there on time. We’ll keep pressing to make sure it happens,” Kim said.
Across the aisle, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito lamented the “very outdated” air traffic control system and spoke of the shortage of controllers writ large.
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EWR, left, and Sean Duffy, right (Getty)
“[That] makes for the turmoil we’re seeing at Newark,” Capito told Fox News Digital.
“I would like to see more accountability at FAA, which is why I have proposed to Commerce Committee Chairman Cruz’s team a public facing dashboard to show FAA’s progress in updating their systems as well as hiring more controllers.”
While Democrats like DNC Chairman Ken Martin mocked USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy over the latest air-travel-related crisis, Capito countered that the Wisconsin Republican recognizes the challenges America’s skies face.
“I support his efforts to finalize a plan that I hope to review soon,” she said.
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Martin tweeted that “in case you missed it, Sean Duffy, there were near misses at DCA [Ronald Reagan-Washington National Airport in Crystal City, Va.], air traffic control screens are going dark at Newark, and America’s air travel system is falling apart under your and Donald Trump’s watch.”
“Anyway, hope the tacos were good,” he said, apparently referring to a photo Duffy posted on X posing with steak tacos his wife prepared for dinner by his “#LatinaWife.”
Late Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a former Newark mayor himself wrote a lengthy letter to Duffy saying that given, “the serious consequences for our nation’s aviation system, it is critical that the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) take all necessary steps to identify and address the underlying causes of the ongoing flight disruptions.”
“I appreciate that the USDOT has already responded to this ongoing situation by identifying the importance of technology upgrades across the entire air traffic control system, and I am committed to supporting these efforts in Congress.”
“However, I ask that you also immediately direct additional staff and resources in order to restore regular operations at EWR in the days ahead. This is of particular importance as the busy summer travel season approaches, which will put further pressure on EWR and the region’s airspace. Specifically, I request that you take additional steps to address the staffing shortages at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which have contributed significantly to the repeated suspension and interruption of flight operations at EWR.”
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., another committee member, told Fox News Digital that maintaining America’s “busiest and most advanced airspace in the world” requires a skilled workforce and dependable tech.
“The radar outages at Newark put Air Traffic Controllers in an impossible situation, endangered incoming flights and demonstrate the urgent need for modernization of our systems,” said Moran, who along with Sens. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., also introduced the Air Traffic Control Workforce Development Act to bolster that workforce sector.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital later Tuesday that as a “member of the Senate Transportation Committee this is deeply concerning to me. The Biden administration spent years funding anything other than important upgrades and updates to outdated FAA technology.”
“I think many of us will be asking questions about how this occurred and how we can work with Secretary Duffy and Chairman Cruz to fix it. The flying public deserves to know that they are safe and secure when flying in American airspace,” Lummis said.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said: “The ongoing situation at Newark Airport is yet another example of the tremendous strain our aviation system is under—something I’ve been raising the alarm on for years—and it further underscores the urgent need to invest in updated air traffic control systems and equipment, not cut FAA’s funding and workforce.”
A fatal mid-air collision and subsequent near misses at Washington, D.C. area’s Reagan National Airport have added to concerns about the nation’s air-traffic control system. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“As Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee, I have questions about both Newark and the recent incident near the Pentagon. Congress needs answers. The safety of the flying public depends on it.”
In a lengthy statement obtained by Fox News and Fox Business, the FAA acknowledged that “several major airlines are facing ongoing flight disruptions at New Jersey’s Newark-Liberty International Airport as the facility contends with ongoing staffing and technology issues.”
“Last week, air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility in Philadelphia lost radar and radio signals while directing planes to Newark for nearly 90 seconds, causing significant delays and flight cancellations that remain ongoing,” the statement continued, going on to reference the longstanding issues cited by Capito.
“We are working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers. In addition, we are updating our automation system to improve resiliency,” the agency said.
