The Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, plans to reduce the amount of flights inside and outside the Newark Liberty International Airport during the “next weeks”, such as the largest airport in New Jersey. fight with radar interruptions and numerous delays and flight cancellations Due to a Shortage of air traffic controllers.
Speaking in “Meet The Press” of NBC, Duffy said he will call a meeting with all the airlines that leave Newark this week to determine the reduction, and added that he will fluctuate, with a greater reduction in the afternoon when the arrivals on international flights make the airport more busy.
“We want to have several flights that if you reserve your flight, you know you will fly, right?” said. “That is the priority. So you do not arrive at the airport, you wait four hours and then delay.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said that Radar at the Philadelphia facilities that directs aircraft inside and outside Newark airport became black for 90 seconds at 3:55 am on Friday, similar to a April 28 incident.
According to FAA, there has been an average of 34 arrival cancellations per day since mid -April in Newark, with the number of delays throughout the day from an average of five in the morning to 16 at night. They tend to last from 85 to 137 minutes on average.
The Trump administration proposed a multimillionaire review of the US Air Traffic Control System. UU. Thursday that includes six new air traffic control centers and technology and communications updates in all air traffic facilities in the country for the next three or four years.
Duffy said on Sunday that he also plans to raise the mandatory retirement age for air traffic controls from 56 to 61, while trying to navigate a shortage of approximately 3,000 people in that specialized position.
Plan to give these air traffic controlle an initial 20% bonus to remain at work. However, he says that many air traffic drivers choose to retire after 25 years of service, which means that many retire around 50 years.
“These are not solutions during the night,” Duffy said. “But as we go up, one, two years, older men at work, younger men enter, men and women, we can compensate for that difference of 3,000 people.”
Add more air traffic controlle contrasts with a priority of the Trump administration: reduce jobs in almost all other federal agencies. However, the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, said in “Face the Nation” of CBS that Duffy deserves credit for putting “caution tape” in the safety functions of the FAA and separating that personnel from the reduction of Dux costs.
Kirby said United has already reduced its schedule in Newark, and will meet with Duffy at the end of this week. He expects a deeper cut in his ability to last until June 15, when construction is expected to be completely complete, although he believes that some reductions will last throughout the summer.
“We have fewer flights, but we keep everything safe, and we have the plane safely on the ground,” Kirby said. “Security is number one, so I am not worried about security. I am worried about the delays and impacts of customers.”
