The U.S. government watchdog announced on Monday it will investigate the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2024 decision to move some Newark air traffic controllers from New York to Philadelphia, aiming to address staffing shortages and reduce congestion in the New York City-area airspace. This review follows two significant communications outages in April and May that affected controllers managing Newark’s airspace, causing flight delays and raising safety concerns.
The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said the outages prompted questions about the FAA’s handling of the relocation, including its effects on system redundancy, staffing, training, and operational resilience. The FAA transferred 17 controllers from New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (N90), one of the country’s busiest facilities, to Philadelphia in July 2023 to improve staffing and ease congestion. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy requested the audit, questioning whether sufficient precautions were taken to ensure reliable communications during the move. The FAA recently implemented a new fiber optic network connecting New York and Philadelphia TRACONs to improve operations and has extended flight cutbacks at busy New York airports through October 2026. The FAA currently faces a shortage of about 3,500 controllers, contributing to safety concerns, flight delays, and increased overtime. Congress has approved $12.5 billion to fund hiring and modernization efforts.