WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – The control tower at Newark airport outside New York City was temporarily evacuated and officials ordered a ground stop on Monday morning after a burning smell, the FAA said.
“Arrivals and departures are temporarily paused at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after air traffic controllers evacuated the tower because of a burning smell coming from an elevator,” the FAA said.
The pause in traffic at the busy airport came around 7:30 a.m. Controllers returned to their station and the ground stop was lifted about half an hour later.
The incident came the morning after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport, killing both pilots, injuring dozens and closing the facility, authorities said.
U.S. aviation faces chronic shortages of air traffic controllers and a separate shortfall of Transportation Security Administration officers due to a partial government shutdown that has led to delays, long security lines and heightened safety concerns across airports nationwide.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Katharine Jackson; Editing by doina Chiacu)
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