Air travel across the New York–New Jersey–Philadelphia region was disrupted Monday after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a series of ground stops and delays tied to communication problems at the Philadelphia TRACON air traffic control facility.
Newark was hit first
The disruption began at Newark Liberty International Airport, where the FAA initially stopped flights departing other airports for Newark. Departures from Newark were also delayed, with delays increasing through the morning.
The FAA later expanded the restriction to include flights departing Newark as well.
Ground stops spread to other airports
As the equipment problem continued, the FAA also paused flights at Teterboro Airport and Philadelphia International Airport. Shortly after 2 p.m., the ground stop expanded to John F. Kennedy International Airport as well.
LaGuardia Airport was not placed under the same full ground stop, but flights there were experiencing a ground delay of about 45 minutes.
FAA points to Philadelphia TRACON frequencies
The FAA said the disruption was connected to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia TRACON, the regional air traffic control facility involved in handling traffic for several major airports in the area.
Reuters reported that the problem involved communications used to guide aircraft into and out of Philadelphia, Newark and Teterboro. More than 600 flights had been delayed, representing more than 20% of scheduled traffic at Newark and Philadelphia, according to flight-tracking data cited by Reuters. Newark was experiencing average delays of roughly 112 minutes at one point.
Newark and Teterboro later returned to normal operations
The FAA later said normal operations had resumed at Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airportafter the temporary radar-feed problem at Philadelphia TRACON. The agency said it was still investigating the cause and monitoring data transmissions between facilities.
The FAA also noted that Monday’s data-transmission issue was not related to a separate equipment problem at Philadelphia TRACON the previous week.
Travelers advised to check with airlines
Because restrictions and delays can change quickly, travelers flying through Newark, JFK, LaGuardia, Teterboro or Philadelphia should check directly with their airline before heading to the airport.
Monday’s disruption again highlighted the importance of the Philadelphia TRACON facility, which plays a key role in managing air traffic in and around the New York metropolitan region. The FAA has previously announced infrastructure upgrades intended to improve reliability and redundancy for systems serving Newark and surrounding airports.
Sources: FAA, Reuters, News 12 New Jersey
By NJ RADAR Team