FAA Delays Flights at New Jersey Airport Over 'Staffing'

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday delayed all departures at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey because of staffing issues.

The FAA initially issued a ground stop order at 2:15 p.m. ET, meaning it halted all departures at the airport until 3 p.m. But the ground stop was canceled, and a ground delay was issued until 9 p.m., with an average delay of about 87 minutes and a maximum delay of nearly two hours.

The airport also experienced a delay of nearly one-and-a-half hours for inbound flights, according to FlightAware.com.

Teterboro Airport, located just 12 miles from midtown Manhattan, is considered a general aviation reliever airport. The airport said on its website that its goal is to remove nonscheduled, general aviation aircraft from regional air traffic that would cause major congestion at other commercial airports operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The ground delay came amid recent chronic delays and cancellations at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey's largest airport, which have put a spotlight on a shortage of air traffic controllers and the aging equipment they use, which the Trump administration wants to replace.

The FAA on May 20 issued an interim order that offered a short-term fix to problems at the Newark airport that includes reducing the flight arrival and departure rates to 28 each per hour until construction of a runway is completed June 15. But it will continue on Saturdays until the end of the year. After June 15, the number of arrival and departure flights will be limited to 34 each per hour on weekdays.

"We're using equipment that looks like it's off the Apollo 13 set," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier this month when he announced a plan to build a new air traffic control system, one he said is so "antiquated" that sometimes replacement parts can't be found on eBay.

"What you see in Newark, we're gonna have to fix, we're gonna have to move fast, but we're gonna do it right," Duffy said. "My concern is that we could see other situations like this around the country because the system is old.

The proposed project included replacing telecommunications equipment, such as nearly 800 voice switches that still rely on outdated analog technology and 25,000 radios. The department also seeks to replace machines and rebuild facilities past their prime, such as 618 radars and six air traffic control centers from the 1960s and replace copper wiring with fiber.

The FAA and National Air Traffic Controllers Association also agreed to a limited-time incentive package to recruit and retain controllers. It includes a $5,000 bonus for academy graduates who successfully completed the initial qualification training; a $5,000 bonus for new hires who successfully complete the initial qualification training; and a $10,000 bonus for academy graduates who are assigned to one of 13 hard-to-staff air traffic facilities.

Certified controllers eligible to retire but under the mandatory retirement age (56) will receive a lump sum payment of 20% of their basic pay for each year they continue to work.

Newsmax reached out to the FAA for comment.