As the summer travel season kicks off Memorial Day weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration has extended the flight limits in place at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The FAA said that the number of arrivals and departures will be capped at 28 each or 56 flights total every hour, The Associated Press reported.
The limits were effective on May 20, the FAA said in a news release.
The reasons given were technical problems and air traffic controller shortages.
The limits are expected to last until June 15 and every weekend from September to December, The New York Times reported.
After June 15, it is expected to be increased to 34 arrivals and 34 departures until Oct. 25.
Historically, there have been about 39 flights an hour each for arrivals and departures.
The FAA has been trying to correct technical issues that have plagued the control tower by updating software and adding fiber optic lines. A new radar system will be built but that will take months and there will still be issues with aging infrastructure.
Twice in the past month, radar and communication systems failed briefly in Philadelphia, where Newark flight traffic is controlled. The main line that sends the radar signal from a New York FAA location failed and the backup line’s signal was delayed.
The FAA said that there was an outage that affected radio communications for two seconds, but radar was available, the AP reported.
As for staffing issues, five to seven air traffic controllers were off the job in Philadelphia because of a 45-day trauma leave following an April 28 outage, making the tower even more short-staffed than normal.
Only 24 air traffic controllers are watching Newark, not the 38 the FAA said is needed, The New York Times reported. There are also 26 trainees at the Philadelphia facility, but it is not known which airport they are assigned to observe.
There have also been times when sick leave among controllers necessitated limiting flights so those who were working could ensure safety, the AP reported.
“Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,” FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said, according to the AP.
United Airlines accounts for about 70% of flights out of Newark and said the restrictions will ensure safety.
“Reducing the number of flights scheduled at Newark will help ensure that we can safely and reliably operate the flights that remain on the schedule, which is why we proactively reduced our schedule earlier this month,” airline officials told the Times.
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