After a recent outage at the Newark airport’s control tower, aviation authorities are considering asking airlines to reduce flights to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). This comes after a second outage was reported, which may lead to cancellations for flights arriving at the airport.

Authorities are discussing potential reductions to ensure operational safety and efficiency. The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet commented on this matter.

Plan to Voluntarily Reduce Flights

Insiders indicated a meeting could soon occur between aviation authorities and airline representatives to discuss these flight reductions. The objective is to lower traffic levels at Newark to match the capabilities of the current air traffic control staff and equipment capacity.

United Airlines has previously cut flights from Newark. Currently, the airline has reduced operations by one-third compared to figures before the pandemic, and CEO Scott Kirby has suggested further reductions to manage traffic, particularly during runway construction.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation is working to improve the control facility’s technology to prevent similar issues in the future, including transitioning outdated equipment to more modern technologies like fiber optics.

Bloomberg reports on the ongoing discussions about flight reductions.