Air traffic controllers in Denver were forced to quickly switch to emergency backup frequencies after losing contact with planes for roughly 90 seconds earlier this week, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This marks the latest in a series of equipment failures that have raised concerns about the nation’s aging air traffic control system.
The communications blackout occurred Monday afternoon at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center, which oversees high-altitude flights traversing the country, according to Frank McIntosh, the FAA’s head of air traffic control.
McIntosh told lawmakers during a House hearing Thursday that while the outage disrupted communications, radar systems remained operational.
Both the primary and main backup frequencies went down, forcing controllers to use an emergency frequency to relay instructions to pilots.
“Controllers used another frequency to relay instructions to pilots. Aircraft remained safely separated and there were no impacts to operations,” the agency said in a statement.
The incident in Denver follows two high-profile radar and communications outages over the last two and a half weeks at a Philadelphia facility responsible for guiding planes in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport.
A third similar problem occurred Sunday, but that time, the backup system functioned properly and kept radar online.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said he was concerned about the increasing frequency of such failures during Thursday’s hearing.
“We know that there are staffing and equipment problems at air traffic control,” Garcia said. “We know that the problems have gone back decades in some cases, but it’s still an absolutely shocking system failure and we need immediate solutions.”
The FAA is currently about 3,500 controllers short of its staffing targets, leading to delays and mandatory overtime.
Multibillion-Dollar Plan
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, writing in a Thursday op-ed in Newsweek, said air travel remains safe despite the outdated system. He called the recent outages in Newark “unacceptable” and preventable with timely upgrades.Duffy has announced a multibillion-dollar plan to modernize air traffic control infrastructure.
The FAA has acknowledged that frequent outages are stressful for controllers and said it is working to ensure more reliable equipment and to update automation systems.
Following the recent outages, airlines and the FAA have discussed reducing flights at Newark due to insufficient staffing and equipment issues, with more than 140 flights canceled at the airport on Thursday.
United Airlines, Newark’s largest carrier, announced it would cancel 35 flights per day—about 10 percent of its daily schedule—after what CEO Scott Kirby described as a “chaotic week” of delays and diversions caused by technology failures.
Discussions between the FAA and airlines regarding flight reductions at Newark are set to continue Friday, though no immediate decisions are expected.
