Breaking down the FAA-led chaos at Newark Liberty International Airport
Airport leader clarifies Newark travel turmoil, advocates flight reduction and staff increase
In an exclusive chat with Fox News Digital, aviation genius Greg Raiff, CEO of Elevate Aviation Group, peeled back the curtains on the FAA's aged system and why Newark Liberty International Airport is plagued by blackouts.
EXCLUSIVE: A third equipment meltdown affected flights at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on Sunday as the airport grapples with ground halts caused by staffing shortages and outdated communication systems.
Greg Raiff, founder, and CEO of Elevate Aviation Group, shed light on underspent infrastructure and substantial staffing deficits disturbing flights at EWR, and the immediate solution being to cut the number of flights while ramping up recruitment.
"It's a riddle that's not gonna crack on its own," Raiff commented. "The reason we see it now at Newark is because of the harmful blend of under-funded infrastructure, in terms of the communication lines and the systems buried at this new center in Philadelphia, where these new air traffic controllers moved to."
"Merged with the fact that instead of merely being slightly understaffed like many FAA ATC centers, Newark lost a substantial number of controllers overnight when the FAA forced all these employees to relocate to another city," he added.
*COMMUNICATION GLOP IN NEWARK CAUSES MORE FLIGHT DELAYS, FAA ADMITS*
Greg Raiff, founder, and CEO of Elevate Aviation Group. (Reuters/Fox News Digital)
Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) transferred the airspace management, including 12 air traffic controllers, from New York to Philadelphia.
"Much like in any employment field, when you tell people they need to relocate and commute to a location two hours away, you're bound to lose a bunch of employees. And there's also this factor of all of a sudden working in a new environment, and all the data channels are still going back through New York and being rerouted to Philadelphia," Raiff explained.
*AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS REQUEST 'TRAUMATIC INCIDENT' LEAVE AFTER NEW YORK-PHILADELPHIA WRINKLES*
Raiff suggested that communication malfunctions between the old facility in New York and the new facility in Philadelphia may have contributed to the initial outages. In addition, while the FAA's outdated system has triggered communication failures at EWR, Raiff emphasized that human blunder plays a critical part.
"Human error is stemming from the fact that the FAA decided to transport those air traffic controllers, those who worked in New York for years, and plopped many of them in Philadelphia."
Raiff, who runs a private aviation firm with a team of 10 individuals for a single flight, underscored that increasing recruitment is the most sustainable way to prevent communication errors.
"Increasing recruitment is the key to preventing communication mistakes. Unfortunately, there's an air traffic controller shortage right now. Regardless of Secretary Duffy's best intentions, I fear it's going to take at least 12 or 24 months. The procedure involves recruiting individuals, training them thoroughly, testing them before they can even guide airplanes."
Raiff suggested the next step should be reducing the number of flights permitted to operate in and out of EWR and continuing to bring back controllers, beef up the controller pool, increase training programs, and boost pay for air traffic controllers for the long haul.
"Ultimately, I reckon Newark Airport will implement a traffic flow control system where they accept the reality that they cannot safely operate the same volume of flights they've operated in the past. That means cancelled flights, rescheduled flights, and the airlines having to transport some of their traffic to other New York airports," Raiff remarked.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday a new plan to overhaul the FAA, which includes replacing old telecommunication systems, revamping radars, addressing runway safety, building six new air traffic control centers, installing new modern air traffic facilities, and adding new weather stations.
Troubles persisted at EWR on Monday, with the airport enforcing a ground delay program due to "FAA staffing issues."
Fox News Digital's requests for comment from the FAA and EWR were not immediately replied.
- The air traffic controllers transferred from New York to Philadelphia at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last year, including 12 controllers, are facing challenges in their new environment and commuting, potentially contributing to communication malfunctions.
- Despite the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) plan to overhaul their aged system, announced by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the immediate solution to the communication failures at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) lies in reducing the number of flights, increasing recruitment, beefing up training programs, and boosting pay for air traffic controllers.
- The business sector, including finance, industry, and technology, may be impacted by the ongoing chaos at EWR, with airlines being forced to reschedule or transport flights to other New York airports due to traffic flow control systems implemented at the airport.
