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Travel Hell: Hundreds of Flights Canceled After FAA Issues Newark Airport Ground Stop Due to ‘Equipment Issue’ Ahead of Busy Holiday Weekend

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop for Newark Airport in New Jersey on Thursday due to an ‘equipment’ issue ahead of the busy Labor Day weekend.

Hundreds of flights were canceled and delayed due to the ground stop.

The ground stop turned into a ground delay. Flights were delayed more than 2 hours on Thursday afternoon.

CBS News reported:

Newark Liberty International Airport is under a ground delay Thursday afternoon. It comes prior to a busy holiday weekend.

A full ground stop was ordered around noon and later updated to a ground delay. Arriving flights appear to be delayed by more than 2.5 hours.

“The FAA is pausing some flights into Newark Liberty International Airport due to equipment issues. We are investigating the cause,” a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The airport has been limiting its number of flights due to air traffic control staffing and equipment issues from earlier in the summer. The FAA suggested earlier this month that the slowdown should remain in effect until October 2026.

Hundreds of flights had to be canceled or delayed at the start of the summer, in part due to runway construction and partly due to equipment issues that caused air traffic controllers to briefly lose communication on multiple occasions.

Earlier this month the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for United Airlines flights at several airports due to a ‘technology issue.’

Earlier this year United Airlines pulled 35 round-trip flights a day following a radar outage at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

In April air traffic controllers lost communication with planes flying in and out of Newark for about 90 seconds.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association told Bloomberg News that Newark “temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them.”

The FAA released an urgent statement earlier this year after a malfunction with telecommunications equipment.

“Our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce. As @SecDuffy has said, we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible. We are working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers. In addition, we are updating our automation system to improve resiliency,” the FAA said.

The post Travel Hell: Hundreds of Flights Canceled After FAA Issues Newark Airport Ground Stop Due to ‘Equipment Issue’ Ahead of Busy Holiday Weekend appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.