Radio issues force Newark flights to halt, adding to string of airport problems

(NEW YORK) — A temporary ground stop halted incoming flights at Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday due to air traffic control communication issues, marking the latest in a series of disruptions at the busy New Jersey airport.

Air traffic controllers briefly lost their radio frequencies during the ground stop, which lasted from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET, according to Federal Aviation Administration bulletins. Delays averaged more than two hours.

The FAA responded by further reducing Newark’s flight capacity. The agency cut incoming flights to 28 per hour until at least Friday, a significant decrease from the airport’s normal capacity of 40-42 flights per hour, which had already been lowered to 34 in recent weeks.

“The FAA is pausing some flights into Newark Liberty International Airport due to equipment issues. We are investigating the cause,” the agency said in a statement. Controllers were instructed to space arriving aircraft about 20 miles apart on approach to Newark, a controller on duty told ABC News.

The disruption marked the second outage for controllers at the Philadelphia air traffic control center, which manages Newark’s airspace, within 24 hours.

During Wednesday evening’s outage, pilots reported that controller call signs were cutting out entirely, according to air traffic recordings obtained by LiveATC.net. One controller was heard telling pilots they were “having some sort of FTI issues” and had placed flights in a hold.

“Out here it’ll be no call sign or just be heading 040,” one pilot reported during Wednesday’s incident, explaining why aircraft weren’t acknowledging transmissions.

The latest disruption adds to a growing list of technical issues at Newark.

On May 11, a telecommunications problem at the Philadelphia TRACON facility prompted a 45-minute ground stop. Just days earlier, on May 9, radar screens went dark for 90 seconds, forcing controllers to warn incoming aircraft about potential communication issues, according to FAA reports.

In late April, controllers experienced a 60-90 second outage that darkened their computer screens and cut off aircraft communications, sources familiar with the incident told ABC News.

Following the April incident, several controllers took medical leave, citing the event as traumatic, ABC News had reported.