Emergency Task Force Established to Address Telecommunications Issues at Newark Liberty International Airport

On May 12, 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a major step towards resolving persistent telecommunications problems at Newark Liberty International Airport. During a press conference at the Department of Transportation Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Duffy revealed the formation of an emergency task force comprised of executive experts from various organizations, including Verizon, AT&T, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This initiative is a direct response to recent telecommunications failures that have significantly disrupted air traffic control operations.

Background of Newark’s Telecommunications Crisis
The urgency for a solution stems from three separate telecommunications outages in the past two weeks at Newark, resulting in major disruptions to air travel. On April 28 and May 9, air traffic controllers experienced 90-second outages, which resulted in a loss of communication with incoming and outgoing flights. These incidents caused numerous flight delays and inconvenienced thousands of passengers.

Secretary Duffy explained that the main objective of the newly established task force is to establish three additional telecommunications connections between New York and Philadelphia, creating a robust communication network. This redundancy is crucial because if one line fails, the others can maintain operational capabilities. “Our goal is to ensure that there is always a backup to keep the airspace safe and manage flight operations smoothly,” Duffy stated.

Progress and Transparency
While a specific timeline for resolving the issues has not been set, Secretary Duffy is in constant communication with Verizon CEO Hans Vest