WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Transportation Department announced multiple updates Wednesday for the tens of thousands of people who travel through Newark International Airport every day.
Aging equipment has recently caused chaos at the busy airport, cutting off communications and cancelling flights.
“Safety is the priority,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
The Trump administration says it’s made multiple updates to Newark International Airport since recent air traffic control outages shut down communications and forced delays at the busy airport.
“The system remains incredibly safe,” FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says that’s because it worked with airlines to cut hourly departures in half until more air traffic controllers finish their training.
“A flight capacity that the airport can handle with the number of controllers that we have,” Duffy said.
Duffy says right now, 16 controllers operate the airspace for Newark with 16 more expected by the fall.
Duffy says the airport will also have a new runway and telecom line in the coming months.
“But again, I’m concerned that we could have more of Newarks,” Duffy said.
That’s why Duffy says he’s asking Congress for tens of billions of dollars for upgrades across the country.
“We are going to in essence gut the air traffic control system and build it brand new. Everything,” he said.
The House included $12.5 billion for that in President Trump’s budget bill, but Duffy says that won’t be enough.
“This is the most critical infrastructure project that this country has at this moment,” he said.
Lawmakers still don’t agree on an exact number and how to fund this project. The Senate is also likely to make changes to the House’s version of the president’s bill.
Source: Fox 8 News Channel