Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport faced days of severe disruption after an April 28, 2025, telecommunications and equipment failure at the Federal Aviation Administration facility responsible for directing aircraft into and out of the airport. The technical problem was followed by a staffing shortage after several controllers took time away from work following the stressful incident.
The episode was sometimes described as controllers having “walked off the job,†but that characterization was disputed by their union. The FAA itself said that some controllers at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, or TRACON, had taken time off “to recover from the stress of multiple recent outages.â€
The controllers were not working at Newark itself. They were assigned to Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which handles arrivals and departures for Newark airspace after responsibility for that traffic was transferred from the New York facility in 2024.
What happened on April 28
On April 28, the FAA reported telecommunications and equipment problems at Philadelphia TRACON and began slowing arrivals and departures at Newark. An FAA operations advisory documented an equipment outage affecting Philadelphia Area C and ground stops for Newark and nearby airports.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said controllers temporarily lost radar and communications with aircraft under their control, leaving them unable to see, hear or communicate normally with some flights.
The FAA later confirmed that the agency's aging air traffic control infrastructure was affecting its workforce. In a May 5 statement, the agency said frequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful and acknowledged that some controllers responsible for Newark traffic had taken time away from work.
The FAA said that when staffing or equipment problems occur, it reduces the flow of aircraft into an airport to maintain safety. That response can create substantial delays and cancellations because fewer aircraft are permitted to enter the affected airspace.
Controllers described losing radar contact
Air traffic control recordings reported by CNN and captured by LiveATC illustrated how serious the communications failure appeared from the controllers' perspective.
In one exchange, a pilot repeatedly attempted to contact an approach controller before receiving an answer. In another, a controller advised a United Airlines flight to continue on its arrival route and maintain 6,000 feet because radar had been lost.
After radar information returned, a controller indicated that the display appeared to be several seconds behind the aircraft's actual position.
Another exchange involved a smaller aircraft seeking authorization to enter controlled airspace. The controller told the pilot that radar service was unavailable and instructed the pilot to contact the appropriate tower instead.
The recordings helped explain why the incident had consequences beyond an ordinary flight delay. Controllers are responsible for maintaining separation among aircraft moving through one of the country's busiest aviation regions, and losing normal radar or radio capabilities forces them to rely on established contingency procedures.
Why some controllers were absent for weeks
Reports that more than 20% of controllers had “walked off the job†prompted criticism from some airline and aviation industry figures. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the staffing problem intensified disruption at Newark and argued that the facility had already been chronically understaffed.
The controllers' union rejected the suggestion that employees had simply abandoned their posts. It said affected controllers used protections available to federal employees after a traumatic workplace incident.
Under the federal workers' compensation system, an eligible federal employee who suffers a qualifying traumatic injury at work can receive continuation of regular pay for as many as 45 days while a claim is processed. The Federal Employees' Compensation Act establishes that benefit, while Department of Labor guidance requires supporting medical evidence for periods of disability.
That means the reported 45-day period was not an arbitrary vacation allowance. It reflected the maximum continuation-of-pay period available under federal law for qualifying traumatic injuries, subject to the applicable claims requirements.
Delays continued after the equipment was restored
Although the immediate April 28 technical failure was resolved, staffing shortages and other operational constraints continued to limit Newark's capacity. Hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled on individual days, affecting thousands of passengers.
The disruption also overlapped with construction on one of Newark's runways, adding another constraint to an airport already dealing with controller staffing and technology problems.
On May 7, the FAA said it was continuing to slow Newark arrivals and departures because of “runway construction at Newark and staffing and technology issues at Philadelphia TRACON.†The agency announced several measures intended to make the system more resilient.
- Adding three high-bandwidth telecommunications connections between the New York-based radar systems and Philadelphia TRACON.
- Replacing existing telecommunications links with newer fiber-optic technology.
- Deploying a temporary backup system while the new network was installed.
- Establishing a local Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System, or STARS, hub at Philadelphia so controllers would be less dependent on a telecommunications feed from New York.
- Increasing the number of certified and trainee controllers assigned to the Newark operation.
A second outage underscored the problem
The April 28 incident was not the end of Newark's technology problems. On May 9, the FAA reported another telecommunications outage affecting communications and radar displays at Philadelphia TRACON Area C. The agency said that failure began at about 3:55 a.m. and lasted approximately 90 seconds.
A separate telecommunications issue occurred on May 11. The FAA said it briefly slowed aircraft while checking that backup systems were functioning before normal operations resumed.
These incidents intensified scrutiny of the infrastructure connecting the New York radar system with controllers in Philadelphia.
The FAA imposed flight limits
As disruption continued, the FAA moved to reduce the number of scheduled operations at Newark so that demand would better match the airport's available capacity.
The agency announced limits of 28 arrivals and 28 departures per hour while major runway construction was underway, with higher limits outside the construction period. The FAA said the restrictions were designed to reduce excessive delays caused by the combination of construction, staffing shortages and equipment problems.
The restrictions reflected an important distinction: the FAA did not shut Newark down because it considered the airport categorically unsafe. Instead, it reduced traffic when staffing or technology problems limited the number of flights controllers could safely handle.
A national staffing and infrastructure problem
Newark's difficulties also highlighted broader weaknesses in the U.S. air traffic control system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in May 2025 that the country was roughly 3,000 controllers short and that rebuilding the national system would require several years.
On May 8, the Department of Transportation announced a broader modernization plan intended to replace aging telecommunications, radar, surveillance and automation infrastructure.
Duffy said the nationwide project was expected to take roughly three to four years, although officials planned to prioritize improvements affecting Newark.
What changed later
Subsequent developments showed that some of the Newark-specific fixes could be completed more quickly than the full national modernization program.
On July 3, 2025, the FAA announced that it had activated a new fiber-optic communications network between New York and Philadelphia TRACON. The agency said the system used two separate communications paths so that equipment could continue operating if one path was disrupted.
The FAA also continued work on additional backup capabilities, a Philadelphia-based STARS hub and controller staffing. Flight limits at Newark remained part of the agency's strategy for matching scheduled traffic to the airport's available capacity while those changes were implemented.
Why the Newark episode mattered
The disruption was caused by several overlapping problems rather than a single “walkoutâ€: an April 28 technology failure, a subsequent reduction in available controllers, an already tight staffing situation, runway construction and additional telecommunications incidents in May.
The controllers who took time away from work did so after a documented equipment and communications failure and under federal workplace-injury procedures, according to the FAA and their union. Meanwhile, the FAA responded operationally by limiting traffic, adding redundancy and accelerating infrastructure improvements.
The episode became an unusually visible example of how aging technology and a shortage of specialized personnel can affect a major airport even after the original equipment failure has been repaired.
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