United Airlines said Tuesday that an intense shortage of air traffic controllers It was causing “significant disruption” to commuters in Newark, NJ, its busy hub just outside New York City.
The airline said the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to reduce traffic flow at its Newark hub due to reduced staffing 12 of the first 25 days of November, causing delays, cancellations, longer taxi times and longer flight times. More than 343,000 United passengers were inconvenienced. Due to air traffic control delays to Newark.
United said that on November 15 alone, flights were canceled as a result of air traffic control staffing issues affecting 1,880 customers; An additional 24,558 people were disrupted by gates and other delays.
“At Newark airspace, the FAA is addressing the decades-old issue of staffing and has been transparent with airlines and passengers about our plan,” the FAA said.
United’s comments follow Record-setting Thanksgiving holiday air-travel period In the beginning.
“That’s why it’s imperative for the FAA to rebuild staffing levels so travelers can continue to depend on safe, efficient air travel,” United said.
In the last two years, A series of near-miss events This has raised concerns about US aviation safety and pressure on understaffed air traffic control operations. The FAA said last month it was launching an audit of runway incursion risks at the 45 busiest U.S. airports after a series of near-miss incidents.
The FAA needed 17 air traffic controllers to transfer from New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), known as N90, to Philadelphia in late July. The New York TRACON is one of the busiest facilities in the US.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told reporters last week that the move allowed the agency to “relieve stress in New York and improve controller staffing levels by recruiting and training controllers in Philadelphia.” Whittaker said delays have decreased with the relocation of the airfield.
In recent years, the FAA has been forced to routinely assign controllers six-day work weeks and slow down air traffic in the New York area.
The FAA is about 3,000 controllers short of staffing goals and the agency said it had 10,700 certified controllers last year, the same number as a year earlier.
The FAA in June extended the cut in minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports to October 2025, saying the number of controllers handling traffic in New York was inadequate for normal traffic levels.
