FAA Completes Project to Prevent More Comms Outages at Newark Airport

The FAA has completed a key fiber optic upgrade at Newark Liberty International Airport, installing a new communications line to prevent further outages like the ones that disrupted operations earlier this year.

“The last administration ignored government watchdog reports and did nothing to address the glaring issues at Newark – we vowed to fix it,” said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “What we’ve already accomplished at Newark demonstrates that we are ready to deliver the all-new air traffic control system that the American people deserve.”

The new system, announced on July 3, replaces the old single-line connection between Newark and the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) center with dual redundant fiber paths to boost reliability. The fiber was laid in June and underwent testing over the past month before being activated. FAA officials said the upgrade will help prevent the kinds of failures that caused ground stops and hundreds of flight cancellations this spring.

The change follows a series of alarming technical failures at the Philadelphia TRACON center, which manages Newark’s airspace. On April 28, a 90-second comms blackout forced a ground stop and led to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights. Additional outages followed in May, including a May 11 radar failure that halted inbound flights and delayed or canceled nearly 150 others.

In response, the FAA temporarily limited Newark’s arrival and departure rates to 34 flights per hour and as low as 28 per hour on weekends during runway construction. These limits remain in place through October 25, 2025, with additional constraints during lighting system outages.

The new fiber line is part of a broader FAA plan to stabilize operations at Newark. In addition to this completed project, the agency is building a new STARS radar data hub at the Philadelphia TRACON to increase local autonomy and reduce reliance on remote feeds. That project is expected to wrap up by the end of summer. The FAA is also increasing controller staffing, with 25 new hires currently in training at Philadelphia.

FMI: www.newarkairport.com