Day 9: Terrifying air traffic control breakdown sparks flight cancellations at Newark

✈️ Air traffic communications blackout for 30 seconds

✈️ The traumatic experience caused some controllers to take a leave of absence

✈️ Transportation Secretary Duffy wants airlines to reduce Newark flights

The delays and cancellations will continue at Newark Liberty International Airport for a ninth day.

More details are coming out about what led to a slowdown in flights, creating the current travel nightmare that could last into the busy summer season.

On Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed reports that a loss in communications caused some controllers to take a 45-day leave of absence to recover from the stress created by antiquated equipment. ABC News, citing air traffic control recordings, reported the outage lasted upwards of 60-90 seconds.

"The primary communication went down. The backup line didn't fire and for 30 seconds, we lost contact," Duffy told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. "Were planes going to crash? No. They have communication devices. They can see other air traffic. But it's a sign we have a frail system in place and it has to be fixed."

Duffy said that between the staffing issues and the paving of a runway, aviation traffic at Newark has been slowed down on purpose to ensure conditions remain safe.

"We have less departures out of the airport until we feel comfortable and safe that the system isn't going to go down again," Duffy said.

New Jersey officials press for action

Gov. Phil Murphy wrote a letter to Duffy seeking immediate attention to the staffing levels at the Philadelphia TRACON Area C, where Newark air traffic controllers are based,  and for a plan to address chronic staffing shortages at New York TRACON.

“Decades of underinvestment in the maintenance of critical air traffic control infrastructure, delays in upgrading to modern 21st century air traffic control technology, and inadequate air traffic control staffing have resulted in a frail system nationwide,” Murphy wrote in his letter.

Murphy also urged Duffy to prioritize the New Jersey-New York region, the busiest in the country, for technology and facility upgrades.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said he is "extremely concerned" by the delays and cancellations at Newark and continues to "press the FAA for answers."

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Airlines work together?

Duffy said all the airlines at Newark need to work on a plan to reduce traffic and to better inform flyers flight status.

"We have to get all the airlines that use Newark together to come up with a plan," Duffy said. "What you don't want is to go to the airport and have a five-hour delay and then a cancellation. Set it up so people actually know if their flight's going to fly. So we have to reduce the traffic, get all the airlines to participate and then we can move forward and rebuild back to capacity."

Duffy said that he will be announcing a plan Thursday to "radically transform the way air traffic looks."

On Monday, 60 flights were canceled, with 38 departures and 42 arrivals already canceled as of 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com.

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Not a walk out

The FAA acknowledged that some workers have taken time off “to recover from the stress of multiple recent outages” and cannot easily be replaced because it is a “highly specialized profession.”

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association union denied a statement by United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby that controllers “walked off the job.”

CNN reported that at least five FAA workers have taken a 45-day leave of absence following the contact loss incident.

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