By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on Friday that the carrier will begin canceling 35 flights a day at its Newark hub due to government equipment failures and air traffic control staffing issues.
On several days this week, United was forced to delay or divert dozens of flights at its hub airport just outside New York City.
“Technology that FAA air traffic controllers rely on to manage the airplanes coming in and out of Newark airport failed – resulting in dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans,” Kirby said in an email to customers. “Unfortunately, the technology issues were compounded as over 20% of the FAA controllers for (Newark) walked off the job.”
A union representing the controllers did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the FAA or the Department of Transportation.
The FAA last year relocated control of the Newark airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City area traffic.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who plans to propose a plan next week to fix badly crumbling air traffic control infrastructure, visited the FAA Terminal Radar Approach Control at Philadelphia on Friday.
Asked about Newark, he said on Thursday: “You are starting to see cracks in the system, and you can see them in different locations.”
On Thursday, Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said the agency has a team investigating the interruptions at Newark. “We need to make sure the controllers have the proper equipment and that they’re obviously appropriately staffed,” he said.
Major U.S. airlines asked the FAA to extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2027, citing severe air traffic controller staffing shortages.
Under minimum flight requirements, airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The FAA’s waiver allows airlines to fly fewer flights and still retain slots.
The FAA is about 3,500 controllers short of targeted staffing. A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and, at many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.
United in November said it was forced to reduce traffic there because of low FAA staffing on a dozen days, disrupting more than 343,000 United travelers. It had already reduced flights at Newark before Friday’s announcement.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bill Berkrot)
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