Initial Newark ATC Upgrades Expected By Summer

Telecommunications infrastructure changes designed to reduce the risk of air traffic control (ATC) system outages at Newark Liberty International Airport will be in place “this summer,” FAA Deputy Chief Operating Officer Frank McIntosh said.

Testifying before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee May 14, McIntosh said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau “asked us to assemble a task force to work with vendors to improve those redundancies.” The group, which included representatives from key vendors Verizon and Crown Castle, met for the first time May 13.

“We’re expecting those redundancies to be put in place this summer,” McIntosh told lawmakers.

The telecommunications upgrades include swapping out copper connections and installing fiber optic lines. The FAA also will add three high-bandwidth connections between New York’s Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), or N90, and the Philadelphia TRACON. The connections will link the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) at N90 to Area C.

Longer-term, the FAA said it will establish a STARS “hub” at the Philadelphia TRACON.

“I was asked to do it as soon as possible, and we’re having that conversation now on how quickly we can get it done,” McIntosh said.

The changes are part of a plan to provide better support for last summer’s relocation of Newark’s arrival and departure management from N90 to the Philadelphia TRACON’s Area C.

System outages on April 28 and May 9 left air traffic controllers with blank radar screens and no radio communication with aircraft as both the primary and backup systems failed. A software patch was put in place. On May 11, the primary link failed again, but the backup system worked.

The FAA’s multi-step plan includes a temporary backup system that will provide redundancy until the new fiber optic lines are in place.
The brittle ATC system is one of several issues affecting Newark air traffic. Runway 4L-22R is closed until mid-June as part of a planned rehabilitation project. ATC staffing issues are also contributing to required traffic slowdowns.