NEW JERSEY (PIX11) – Another air traffic control issue affected flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday, according to the FAA.
On Sunday morning, the FAA issued and then canceled a ground stop at the airport, FAA alerts show. The ground stop lasted just under an hour.
“There was a telecommunications issue at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace. The FAA briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport while we ensured redundancies were working as designed. Operations have returned to normal,” a spokesperson for the FAA said.
Delays averaging two and a half hours are expected to start around 1 p.m., the FAA reported. The reason for the delay was not immediately clear. Nearly 30 flights departing before 2:07 p.m. have been delayed or canceled, according to Newark’s flight tracker.
Newark’s airport has been plagued by delays and cancellations for weeks. It’s now the third air traffic control issue that has brought flights to a halt. On Friday, the FAA reported a 90-second air traffic control outage for flights in and out of the airport.
Air traffic control radars went down on April 29, causing workers to be “unable to see, hear, or talk to [planes],” according to a union representing air traffic controllers.