Overview

• Philadelphia TRACON, responsible for Newark flights, experienced its fourth communications outage since late April, with a brief two-second radio failure on May 19.
• The FAA is investigating the incident, which occurred against the backdrop of severe staffing shortages at the facility, with only 22 controllers employed versus a target of 38.
• To mitigate disruptions, the FAA has proposed capping Newark Airport's arrival rates to 28 flights per hour until June 15 and 34 per hour thereafter, pending final approval.
• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is advocating for a multibillion-dollar air traffic control modernization plan requiring upfront funding, though critics argue it fails to address governance issues.
• The LaGuardia near-miss on May 6, involving a Republic Airways jet aborting takeoff to avoid a United Airlines plane, has prompted FAA and NTSB investigations into runway safety protocols.