Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday he is requesting an investigation into the “failures” of the “Biden-Buttigieg administration” that the Trump administration blames for the recent airline scares at the Newark, New Jersey, airport.
Mr. Duffy said President Trump is dead set on fixing the antiquated system that he inherited from President Biden, which desperately needs upgrades to radar and radio communications to enhance public safety.
“We didn’t have to be here,” Mr. Duffy said. “This did not have to be our story. Over the last four years, the last administration, they knew this was a problem. And by the way, during COVID, when people weren’t flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems.”
Last week, Mr. Duffy unveiled a plan to build a state-of-the-art system that will address decades of neglect in less than four years.
For now, Mr. Duffy said some temporary fixes have been implemented, and traffic going into and out of Newark has been cut back as the administration and the airlines focus on long-term solutions to the problems.
Mr. Duffy said he is asking the Office of Inspector General to investigate the Biden administration’s failures and its decision to move the Terminal Radar Approach Facilities, or TRACON, which guides airplanes into and out of Newark, from New York to Philadelphia.
“I don’t think we are out of the woods yet,” Mr. Duffy said. “We actually have to spend the time now to build the network that should have been built before TRACON was moved.”
“I know this is frustrating. I know it is hard for the airlines operating out of Newark, [and] the families that fly out of Newark,” he said. “It is problematic, but our commitment is always safety.”
Mr. Duffy also said the Federal Aviation Administration has assembled a “tiger team of experts” to implement fixes. The FAA has replaced copper lines with fiber lines at Newark, JFK, and Laguardia, but it will take at least a week of testing before the system can go live.
He said the administration is working to add three more telecommunication connections between New York and Philadelphia.
Newark’s challenges were recently laid bare after technology failures cut off communication between air traffic controllers and planes coming into and out of the busy hub on two occasions.
The episodes also highlighted how staffing shortages and runway construction at the airport had caused lengthy delays, frustrating customers.
Problems at the New Jersey airport continued over the weekend after another equipment failure prompted the FAA to order a 45-minute ground stop.
The New York Times also reported Monday that flights to Newark were delayed due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.
On Monday, Mr. Duffy repeatedly chided former Mr. Biden and his successor, Pete Buttigieg, for not fixing the system.
Mr. Duffy said Mr. Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law, and “virtually none of it went to fix the biggest American infrastructure problem that we have, which is our air traffic control system.”
“As things get old, you get to the point where you start to hear some rattles in your car. That is probably a sign you need to bring it to the shop,” Mr. Duffy said. “The last administration was hearing the rattle and they basically kept driving and didn’t do anything to fix it.”
Mr. Buttigieg has called the criticism “just politics,” and said he helped to reverse a long decline is air controller staffing and to start modernizing systems.
