United Airlines should move some of its flights to Atlantic City Airport until the ongoing issues at Newark Liberty Airport are resolved, New Jersey Assemblyman Michael Torrissi says.
The Egg Harbor Township-based airport recently upgraded its air traffic control facilities to the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System, which primarily uses fiber optic cables, which deliver faster speeds and protection from potential electromagnetic interference.
Newark’s Terminal Radar Approach Control, based in Philadelphia, still uses floppy disks and copper wiring laid in the 1960s that is vulnerable to interference from nearby equipment, power lines and environmental factors. That system has experienced three blackouts since April 28, leading to hundreds of canceled or delayed flights.
About 73% of flights out of Newark belong to United Airlines.
“I know the FAA is laying out new fiber optics between TRACON in Philly and N90 in East Garden City in New York, but there’s no timeline of when that work will be completed, so radar outages may continue to be a problem, a potentially deadly problem,” Torrissi, R-Atlantic, said in a release. “If United shifted even 10 flights a day to Florida from ACY, that would ease up congestion and avoid cancellations out of Newark.”
N90 managed Newark’s airspace until June 2024, when it was shifted to Philadelphia TRACON Area C due to staffing shortages in New York. However, Newark, which should have 60 air traffic controllers on staff, has only 22 fully certified controllers and five certified supervisors. The New York Post reported on May 12 that only one qualified ATC was scheduled between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. that night, directing between 168 and 180 planes landing and taking off. The FAA told the newspaper it secured three certified ATCs for that shift, though the standard for Class B airspace is 15.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are approximately 14,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, about 3,000 short of what it considers full staffing.
On the other hand, Atlantic City Airport, a Class C airspace, employs about 30 ATCs, standard for its size. More than 5,000 people fly in and out of that airport daily, mostly to destinations in Florida.
“The airport is not only in an ideal location but can handle large aircraft and the increased traffic,” Torrissi said. “It’s an underutilized asset for East Coast travel. It’s a win-win for the airport, airline and travelers.”
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