Scott Kirby identified a number of potential solutions for the struggling airport, including modernized and fully staffed air traffic control.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby addresses members of the Houston business community at an event showcasing the Terminal B transformation project on Thursday, November 30, 2023 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Andrew Chen)
United CEO Scott Kirby again weighed in on the dysfunction at Newark Liberty International Airport this week, defending the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to keep travel there safe but also calling for Newark to return to a flight management system it moved away from almost a decade ago.
In a letter to United employees shared with Live and Let’s Fly, Kirby first said the FAA would not be allowing flights into or out of Newark if the safety of passengers was at risk. When issues like technology failures or staffing shortages occur, he added, the FAA and airlines deliberately slow down their schedule and cancel flights to ensure safety standards continue to be met.
“In short, neither the FAA nor United pilots will ever compromise on safety,” Kirby said.
A United Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Newark (Photo: Shutterstock | GingChen)
But delays and cancelations are taking a toll on travelers and carriers, he continued, and a permanent fix will require adjusting Newark’s traffic to a more manageable level.
“In ideal weather, with full staffing and with perfectly functioning technology, the FAA tells us that the airport can only handle 77 flights per hour,” Kirby said. “And yet the FAA regularly approves schedules of 80-plus flights per hour almost every day between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. This math doesn’t work. Especially when there is weather, staffing issues, or technology breakdowns – the airspace, taxiways, and runways get backed up and gridlock occurs.”
The United CEO said Newark is so overextended because in 2016, the FAA took the airport off of its slot control system, in which airlines are given specific windows of time, or “slots,” for takeoffs and landings. The system is meant to help airports manage traffic when the number of flights exceeds their maximum hourly capacity.
“EWR [Newark] is the only large airport in the world that no longer has this basic common-sense rule,” Kirby said.
He recommended Newark be restored to a Level 3 slot-controlled airport, which would put it in the same league as John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Relisting is the “only way to achieve 77 flights per hour,” he said.
The disruptions at Newark stem from a combination of air traffic control staffing shortages, equipment failures, and construction on one of the airport’s three runways used for commercial flights. On April 28, air traffic controllers briefly lost contact with aircraft at and around the airport, triggering the first wave of cancelations and delays and raising serious concerns about the state of the ATC system’s equipment.
The fiasco has continued into this week, and members of Congress are now calling for an investigation into Newark’s operations.
As part of his proposed solution, Kirby said the FAA will have to modernize the ATC system and get the FAA facility that oversees Newark fully staffed. The national ATC system has been understaffed for years, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy estimating a gap of about 3,000 air traffic controllers.
Kirby faced some criticism last week after stating in a letter to United customers that 20% of the air traffic controllers overseeing Newark “walked off the job.” The labor union representing air traffic controllers said some ATC personnel were exercising an option under their contract to seek psychological help after a traumatizing experience.
The FAA, meanwhile, announced a series of measures on Wednesday designed to alleviate some of Newark’s problems, including upgraded ATC technology. The agency, together with the Department of Transportation, is expected to lay out a more sweeping, system-wide overhaul of ATC at a press conference on Thursday.
The department has already announced cash incentives to encourage young people to become air traffic controllers, as well as bonuses to retain more experienced air traffic controllers who have not yet reached the mandatory retirement age.
Thursday’s announcement is expected to focus on ATC technology and facilities, which Duffy and President Donald Trump have described as severely outdated. Trump has spoken about the possibility of handing the redesign of the ATC system to a single large company with expertise in the area, naming IBM and Raytheon as examples.
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