On Thursday (August 28), a temporary ground stop halted incoming flights at Newark Liberty International Airport due to air traffic control communication issues. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), air traffic controllers briefly lost their radio frequencies, causing delays that averaged more than two hours. The ground stop lasted from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.
The FAA has since reduced Newark's flight capacity to 28 incoming flights per hour, down from the previous 34, and instructed controllers to space arriving aircraft about 20 miles apart. This adjustment will remain in place until at least Friday.
The disruption marks the second outage for controllers at the Philadelphia air traffic control center, which manages Newark's airspace, within 24 hours. During a previous outage on Wednesday evening, pilots reported issues with controller call signs cutting out, causing flights to be placed on hold.
The latest incident adds to a series of technical issues at Newark, including a telecommunications problem in May and radar screen outages in April. The timing of these issues is particularly concerning as the busy Labor Day travel period approaches, with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expecting about 17 million travelers between August 20 and September 4.
A spokesperson for United Airlines described the ground stop as a "glitch." Despite the resolution of the ground stop, delays persisted, with officials warning that frequency issues could continue over the next 24 hours.