“Why did it happen?” Duffy opined. “Our digital infrastructure is still running on 40 to 50-year-old technology.”
The push for technology upgrades has been a central part of the Trump administration’s plan to ease chronic delays at airports across the nation. Other plans include training thousands of new air traffic controllers.
Duffy has repeatedly been questioned about the chronic delays and malfunctions impacting Newark Airport, which was widely considered one of the “worst in America” for delays last summer after being besieged by a combination of serious equipment failures, antiquated infrastructure, a chronic lack of air traffic controllers, major runway construction and bouts of bad weather.
Since then, federal officials say there have been improvements at the busiest airport in New Jersey, including the installation of a new surface movement radar system in August. Other recent improvements have included a software patch to fix glitches and prevent outages, rebalancing flight volume to match controller staffing, and replacing 90 percent of Newark Airport’s copper wiring with high-speed fiber.
More upgrades are expected to cross the finish line before the end of the summer next year, including new electronic information displays, voice switches and long-range radar for air traffic controllers, the FAA said.