A veteran air traffic controller at Newark Liberty International Airport has quit flying due to chronic outages and staffing shortages. The 39-year-old controller, who worked for 16 years, said she’s too traumatized to work anymore.
The recent 90-second blackout, which occurred on May 9th, was the latest in a series of power failures affecting crucial communications at America’s second-largest business airport. This has raised concerns about air safety, with the controller stating it’s “only a matter of time” before there’s a fatal crash between two planes.
The FAA is proposing a significant reduction in traffic to 28 arrivals per hour but the controller believes this will not address the underlying issues. She also stated that her experiences have left her feeling hopeless and that corners are being cut behind the scenes, compromising safety.
The relocation of air controllers from Long Island last summer has been cited as a contributing factor to the problems at Newark Airport. The team serving New Jersey’s airport shrunk from 30 to 24 certified controllers, making it difficult for workers to manage over 1,000 planes daily.
Source: https://nypost.com/2025/05/20/us-news/lone-newark-air-traffic-controller-wont-fly-out-of-airport-only-a-matter-of-time-before-we-have-a-fatal-crash