Air traffic controllers at Newark Airport have been struggling with equipment outages as far back as 2023, with The New York Times uncovering a slew of previously unknown technical glitches, radio communication failures and more.

According to a Times investigation released on June 16, workers in the airport's air traffic country facility in Philadelphia encountered more than 300 unscheduled equipment outages or malfunctions between January 1 and June 1 of this year alone. In one instance, phantom aircraft began populating radar screens for air traffic controllers working a graveyard shift in early 2025. In another incident, automated alerts designed to flag hazardous weather conditions stopped working altogether. In an email from to a supervisor in 2023, a controller at the airport also warned that the airport's communications systems had become dangerously unreliable.

Newark Airport came under increased scrutiny following an April 28 outage, where air traffic controller computer screens went dark for up to 90 seconds, effectively cutting off communications with pilots, leaving dozens of planes circling the airport, and leading to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily halting all departures to Newark. At least three more outages occurred at the airport over the next three weeks, during a period where several controllers were taking trauma leave following the April 28 incident. A separate investigation from CNN in early May found that controllers had repeatedly warned about critical safety issues and equipment outages for months leading up the April 28 outage, with one likening the day-to-day situation to "playing Russian roulette."

The FAA relocated dozens of Newark's air traffic controllers from Long Island, New York to Philadelphia as a cost-cutting measure in the early 2000s. But because many controllers lived in Long Island and were reluctant to make the move to a new city, the airport — now controlled from a flight tower 100 miles away — has been left understaffed ever since. 

In early May, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy vowed to modernize the country's aging air traffic control systems, months after the Trump administration had fired hundreds of controllers as part of sweeping government cuts across virtually all major departments. In June, the FAA enacted limits on arrivals and departures at Newark to relieve pressure on controllers and alleviate flight delays.