By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. government watchdog said on Monday it will probe the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2024 decision to relocate some Newark air traffic controllers to Philadelphia from New York to address staffing shortages and congested New York City-area airspace.
The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General is opening the review after two serious communications outages for air traffic controllers overseeing Newark’s airspace in April and May sparked alarm and delayed dozens of flights.
The New Jersey airport is one of the main airports serving New York City and a hub for United Airlines. In May, the FAA ordered flight cuts at Newark following a series of major disruptions.
“These events have raised questions about FAA’s management of the relocation, including impacts on system redundancy, controller staffing and training, and operational resilience,” the inspector general’s office said.
The FAA required 17 air traffic controllers to move from New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, known as N90, to Philadelphia in late July last year. New York TRACON is one of the busiest U.S. facilities. The FAA said “persistent low staffing levels and low training success rate” at N90 were among the reasons to move control of the Newark airspace in a bid to boost staffing levels and help ease congestion.
On Monday, the FAA said it welcomed feedback and would cooperate fully with the audit.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who sought the probe, has questioned if the administration of former President Joe Biden took enough precautions to ensure telecommunications reliability when ordering the move.
Earlier this month, the FAA began using a new fiber optic communications network between New York and the Philadelphia TRACON that directs aircraft in and out of Newark.
Last week, the FAA extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City airports through October 2026.
The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. A series of near-miss incidents has raised safety concerns in recent years, while the persistent staffing shortage has delayed flights and forced controllers at many facilities to work mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.
Congress approved $12.5 billion this month to boost hiring and overhaul the system.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Nia Williams)
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