Your Flight Delay Is Probably New York's Fault

Summary

Summary of "Your Flight Delay Is Probably New York's Fault"

Podcast: The Journal
Hosts: Kate Linebaugh, Ryan Knutson, & Jessica Mendoza
Release Date: December 2, 2024
Produced by: Spotify and The Wall Street Journal

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1. Introduction: The New York Airspace Bottleneck

The episode delves into the pervasive issue of flight delays in the United States, pinpointing New York's complex airspace as a primary culprit. Host Ryan Knutson introduces the topic by highlighting New York's significant role in nationwide flight disruptions.

Ryan Knutson [00:05]: "If you were stranded at an airport over Thanksgiving weekend or sitting on the tarmac for a long time waiting to take off, there's a pretty good chance you can blame New York."

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2. Complexity of New York’s Airspace

Jessica Mendoza elaborates on the intricate nature of New York's airspace, describing it as one of the most complex globally due to the dense concentration of major airports like Newark, LaGuardia, JFK, and smaller airports such as Teterboro. The overlapping flight paths of commercial planes, helicopters, and sightseeing tours contribute to the congestion.

Jessica Mendoza [00:24]: "New York has been a major bottleneck for years. It's some of the most complex airspace in the world, definitely in the country."

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3. National Impact of New York’s Airspace Congestion

The discussion shifts to how disruptions in New York's airspace have cascading effects across the national air travel system. Mendoza points out that airlines operate as finely tuned entities, where delays in one hub can ripple across the entire network.

Jessica Mendoza [01:04]: "Airlines are finely tuned operations, and once that's thrown off, it just sort of cascades through the nation's air travel system."

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4. The Staffing Shortage Crisis

A critical factor exacerbating delays is the shortage of air traffic controllers in New York. Mendoza compares the situation to other professions where insufficient staffing leads to operational slowdowns, with the FAA reducing air traffic speeds to ensure safety.

Ryan Knutson [01:15]: "The Federal Aviation Administration has estimated that as much as 75% of the country's flight delays stem from problems related to New York."

Jessica Mendoza [01:36]: "It's analogous to any profession where you have the same amount of workload and not enough people."

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5. FAA’s Bold Plan: Relocating oversight to Philadelphia

In an attempt to alleviate the bottleneck, the FAA implemented a bold strategy by transferring oversight of Newark's airspace to Philadelphia. This move aims to improve staffing by leveraging Philadelphia's more affordable living costs to attract and retain air traffic controllers.

Jessica Mendoza [07:03]: "The FAA came up with an audacious plan. It carved off oversight of the airspace around Newark Airport and transferred it to Philadelphia."

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6. Union Resistance and Safety Concerns

The air traffic controllers' union vehemently opposed the FAA's relocation plan, citing safety risks and potential increases in delays. Union leaders argued that keeping all controllers in a single location was essential for maintaining operational integrity and minimizing disruptions.

Jessica Mendoza [08:35]: "They raised safety concerns. We're going to increase an unknown risk into the system."

Ryan Knutson [08:50]: "The local union leader saw this move of the Newark airspace down to Philadelphia as a way to undermine the union's control of the New York tracon."

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7. Implementation Challenges and Technical Glitches

Despite opposition, the FAA proceeded with relocating 24 air traffic controllers to Philadelphia. However, the transition has been fraught with technical issues, including radar outages and communication failures, which have jeopardized flight safety and controller morale.

Jessica Mendoza [10:55]: "Attention to all aircraft. Radar contact is lost. Radar contact is lost. Black."

Ryan Knutson [11:24]: "According to the FAA, the blackout lasted less than a few minutes, during which time the controller had to rely on his memory to guide two planes."

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8. Safety Incidents and Operational Risks

The episode recounts several alarming incidents resulting from the relocation, such as radar screen blackouts and radio communication failures. These incidents not only posed immediate safety risks but also significantly impacted controller morale, leading to increased stress and trauma-related leaves.

Jessica Mendoza [13:16]: "One controller told me, when they were on Long Island, we used to get our ass kicked once a week. Now we get our ass kicked every day."

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9. The Thanksgiving Test and Future Outlook

During the Thanksgiving travel surge, the FAA's measures led to reduced flight delays except for Newark. However, the underlying staffing issues remained unresolved, raising concerns about the sustainability of the FAA's approach and the potential for future disruptions during peak travel periods.

Jessica Mendoza [13:40]: "Thanksgiving went relatively smoothly unless you flew via Newark. The FAA had to times formally slow down flights to and from Newark because there were just too few controllers."

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10. Evaluating Safety and Efficiency

The hosts discuss the delicate balance between maintaining safety and achieving operational efficiency. While the FAA and the controllers' union assert that safety is paramount, the ongoing staffing shortages and technical issues suggest that the system is under immense strain, potentially increasing the risk of more severe incidents.

Jessica Mendoza [14:45]: "In the U.S. that is a difficult question to answer. The FAA and the Union for controllers will always insist that they won't sacrifice safety for efficiency."

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11. Conclusion: The Uncertain Future of FAA’s Plan

The episode concludes by pondering the long-term viability of the FAA's relocation strategy. Success would mean smoother operations and fewer delays, rendering the changes invisible to the average traveler. Failure, however, could necessitate a return to the old system or further interventions, leaving the future of air traffic management in New York uncertain.

Ryan Knutson [15:24]: "If it's successful, people will go back to not thinking about it. If it's just part of the system, part of air travel that we take for granted, you'll see fewer delays in New York and around the country."

Jessica Mendoza [16:11]: "The real test is going to be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. It's a big experiment that we're all sort of caught in the middle of."

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Key Takeaways

• New York's Airspace Complexity: The dense concentration of major and minor airports creates one of the world's most complicated airspaces, leading to significant flight delays.
• Staffing Shortages: A critical lack of air traffic controllers in New York exacerbates delays, with up to 75% of national delays attributed to this region.
• FAA's Relocation Strategy: Moving oversight of Newark's airspace to Philadelphia aims to address staffing issues but has introduced new technical and operational challenges.
• Union Opposition: Air traffic controllers' union fears increased safety risks and potential undermining of their operational control due to the relocation.
• Safety Concerns: Technical glitches post-relocation have raised alarms about flight safety, highlighting the precariousness of the current system.
• Future Implications: The success or failure of the FAA's plan will have significant repercussions for national air travel efficiency and safety.

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This episode of The Journal provides an in-depth examination of the systemic issues within New York's airspace management, the FAA's ambitious attempts to rectify staffing shortages, and the ensuing challenges that threaten both operational efficiency and flight safety across the United States.

Transcript

[A]

If you were stranded at an airport over Thanksgiving weekend or sitting on the tarmac for a long time waiting to take off, there's a pretty good chance you can blame New York.

[B]

New York has been a major bottleneck for years.

[A]

That's our colleague Andrew Tangle. He covers aviation.

[B]

It's some of the most complex airspace in the world, definitely in the country. So if you think about it, you've got newark, you've got LaGuardia, you've got JFK, and you've got all these other little airports around them like Teterboro and so forth, and they're all stacked on top of each other. And planes coming from all around the world, helicopters, sightseeing, tours in Manhattan, it's all just right there together. And there's not much space. It's kind of like a metaphor for New York City.

[A]

And when the airspace in New York is congested, it hasn't an outsized impact on the rest of the country.

[B]

Airlines are finely tuned operations, and once that's thrown off, it just sort of cascades through the nation's air travel system.

[A]

The Federal Aviation Administration has estimated that as much as 75% of the country's flight delays stem from problems related to New York. 75%. The reason there are so many delays around New York isn't just because it's a complicated airspace. It's also because the there aren't enough air traffic controllers there.

[B]

It's analogous to any profession where you have the same amount of workload and not enough people when you've got too much on one controller's plate. The faa, they basically, they slow air traffic down so that the controllers who are there can handle it safely.

[A]

This summer, the FAA rolled out a bold plan in an effort to release this bottleneck. It took oversight of the airspace around Newark Airport, one of the big three airports in the New York area, and moved it to Philadelphia. But things are still a mess. It hasn't fixed the staffing issues yet and it's introduced some new risks.

[B]

And this big, high stakes move by the FAA raises the question of whether or not the cure, at least for now, is worse than the disease.

[A]

Welcome to the Journal our about money, business and power. I'm Ryan knudsen. It's Monday, December 2nd. Coming up on the show, the struggle to fix America's most complex airspace. Courage. I learned it from my adoptive mom. Hold my hand.

[B]

You hold my hand.

[A]

Learn about adopting a team from foster [e-mail] you can't imagine the reward brought to you by adoptus kids, the U.S. department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. When you think about air traffic controllers, you probably picture the people up in airport towers, but that's actually just part of the whole air traffic control ecosystem. There's actually different kinds of air traffic controllers for different layers of airspace. The people in the towers handle the planes that are the lowest altitude, basically right after takeoff or landing. The air traffic controllers that we're talking about today handle the airspace that's just above that, above takeoff and landing, but still below cruising altitude. And it's a really stressful job.

[B]

The controllers have to make sure that they're lining up all the airplanes safely. They tell them where to go, where to turn, what altitude, what speed to go at. And they've got to juggle all this and sort of act like a conductor at an orchestra.

[A]

These controllers don't always work at airports because they don't need to look at planes in the sky. They work mostly off radar screens and other digital equipment. They're part of something called a tracon, which stands for Terminal Radar Approach Control. There are tracons all over the country. For decades, the TRACON controllers in New York worked out of a windowless room on Long Island.

[B]

It's this big building tucked in the suburbs of New York City out on Long island in the town of Westbury, and it's called the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control. Or in air traffic control jargon, it's a tracon.

[A]

Working at any TRACON can be stressful, but the TRACON in New York stands apart.

[B]

It's kind of the biggest, baddest TRACON in the whole country.

[A]

Even the FAA's recruitment videos emphasized how tough the place is.

[B]

There's an incredible operational challenge here.

[A]

The complexity of the traffic, the volume. There's very little room for error.

[B]

You gotta be spot on.

[A]

It's a little bit of an adrenaline rush.

[B]

Can be different every day. Oh, we're busy.

[A]

All right, let's go.

[B]

Historically, it is known for having its own culture. People who've worked there historically, I've described it as a bit of a sort of a rough and tumble place where they sort of do things their own way. Some might say out of necessity because it's so difficult with all the airports stacked on top of each other.

[A]

Rough and tumble edge there. Just say more about what that means. What was the culture like at this TRACON office?

[B]

We've heard it described as sort of a place where you get told to suck it up and, you know Deal with. I think it's maybe symbolized in, like, the local New York TRACON graphic on social media with, like, the skeleton, you know, the skull with the headset.

[A]

Wait, that. That's like the logo or like the mascot for the people that work there. It's like a skull and crossbones with a headset on it. Like, we're like the pirates of air traffic control.

[B]

Yeah, it's a tough place to work and a tough place to thrive. Kind of like New York, right?

[A]

The rough and tumble culture at the New York TRACON was even the subject of a 1990s movie featuring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton called pushing Tim.140, Continental 962, American 7736, contact Newark Tower 118.3.

[B]

Take care. Thanks. Look, it's a bit silly and over the top, but it does capture the drama that can be part of the job.

[A]

There's already a national shortage of air traffic controllers, but the staffing shortage is especially bad at the New York tracon. Over the years, its reputation as a particularly tough place to work has made it hard to recruit people.

[B]

There's the question about whether or not the culture at the New York TRACON led to people not being successful in training either because they couldn't cut it. They didn't like the environment, they didn't like Long Island. For whatever reason, new recruits from the academy were leaving at very high numbers.

[A]

The air traffic controllers union declined to comment, as did a union rep for the New York tracon. Earlier this year, the New York TRACON was running at 60% of its targeted staffing. And as we mentioned earlier, if there aren't enough air traffic controllers, the FAA has to thrott the number of flights. In an effort to fix the staffing shortages and the delays, the FAA came up with an audacious plan. It carved off oversight of the airspace around Newark Airport and transferred it to Philadelphia. And just to be clear, they aren't moving the actual airplanes, just the air traffic controllers. Basically, the FAA believed that it had to break apart the New York tracon. The agency hoped that the move would create new workplace dynamics. Philadelphia is also a more affordable city to live in, and the FAA thought that more air traffic controllers would want to live there.

[B]

They went through with it basically on the theory that they will have a better job of recruiting new staff and getting them trained successfully in Philadelphia.

[A]

How did the controllers union respond to this move?

[B]

They opposed it. They pushed back. They raised safety concerns. We're Going to increase an unknown risk into the system. And we need to minimize and keep delays down.

[A]

And that's done by keeping everybody together.

[B]

In the same building. The local union leader saw this move of the Newark airspace down to Philadelphia as a way to undermine the union's control of the New York tracon.

[A]

Despite the pushback, the plan moved ahead. Earlier this year, the FAA moved 24 air traffic controllers from New York to Philadelphia. Some went voluntarily, but others were required to relocate four months later. The FAA says that by at least one measure, flight delays in the New York City region are down overall. But some things have gotten worse. For instance, delays have sharply increased around Newark's airspace. United Airlines said that in November alone, travel for nearly 350,000 passengers was disrupted because of the shortage of air traffic controllers. The FAA says that hiring more air traffic controllers is a top priority and that relocating Newark's controllers to Philadelphia is a, quote, long term solution to a long term staffing challenge. But potentially more alarming are the tech issues that have cropped up. Tech issues that have risked some close calls. That's after the break. So far, moving oversight of Newark's airspace from New York to Philadelphia hasn't yet paid off. The Philadelphia setup is still short staffed, and controllers are having to juggle multiple jobs. On top of that, the equipment that monitors the airplanes, like the radars, remains on Long island, and the signal is now being transmitted to Philly. But that transmission hasn't always been reliable. The first major tech outage happened back in August on the Tuesday before Labor Day, which is a very busy travel period. A controller overseeing Newark had a harrowing experience.

[B]

So the controller's telling the pilots where to point the nose and how to get safely on the ground. He's got what they call targets on the screen when all of a sudden. Attention to all aircraft. Radar contact is lost. Radar contact is lost. Black. He can't see the aircraft. 312, we're recovering from a radar outage right now, so I'm not gonna be able to advise or provide you advisories at this time.

[A]

So what does he do next? His radar screen goes black. And then what?

[B]

He goes to the backup. It's also black.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

For a controller, it's like having a bag over your head when you're going down the highway.

[A]

According to the faa, the blackout lasted less than a few minutes, during which time the controller had to rely on his memory to guide two planes. And was he able to get the planes down safely?

[B]

Yeah. In the end, the radar came back. The planes Landed safely. But this is a heart stopping moment.

[A]

How is it possible for something like this to happen?

[B]

A contractor essentially pulled the wrong circuit and cut off the feed that was coming from Long Island.

[A]

The blackout was just the first of several tech glitches related to this big move. A few weeks later in October, the system overloaded ahead of Columbus Day. Radars kept flickering, which confused controllers who saw aircraft bouncing around on their screens. There were also failures with a system that's supposed to warn about potentially dangerous winds. And then last month, another scare.

[B]

The controller's radios failed. They couldn't communicate easily with other facilities. Was he at a 1560? Yeah. We have no answer on approach, so I don't. It seems like he's not talking to anyone. One FedEx plane coming in for a landing at Newark missed its final approach because the controllers couldn't talk to them and flew potentially into oncoming traffic departing from LaGuardia. Now, the FAA has been dealing with this since then, but you can see how that episode could be really scary for controllers.

[A]

Andrew says that after all these safety issues, morale in Philadelphia got even worse.

[B]

One controller told me, when they were on Long island, we used to get our ass kicked once a week. Now we get our ass kicked every day.

[A]

The FAA says that it's fixed the flickering radar screens and that it's ironed out problems for alerting about dangerous winds. So with all of these issues, how did things go over Thanksgiving weekend when there were more travelers than ever nationwide?

[B]

Thanksgiving went relatively smoothly unless you flew via Newark. The FAA had to @ times formally slow down flights to and from Newark because there were just too few controllers. And that staffing shortage was made worse recently because some of those controllers went on so called trauma leave, which they're allowed to take after scary experiences like having those radio failures earlier in November.

[A]

Thanksgiving was just the first big test of the holiday travel season, though. So what do you expect over the next few weeks?

[B]

There's a risk of disruption. You could face a significant delay departing from Newark, arriving at Newark, or leaving where you're flying from to go to Newark because they put in a ground stop or a delay so that you're stuck on the tarmac in San Francisco or wherever.

[A]

So what does this story say about how safe we are as airline passengers.

[B]

In the U.S. that is a difficult question to answer. The FAA and the Union for controllers, you know, will always insist that they won't sacrifice safety for efficiency. There's a question of fatigue, and that's been an issue raised by the union over the last few years that at some point the system's gonna break. If you're constantly working more because of the short staffing, it can lead to more close calls and God forbid, something worse.

[A]

What's the best case scenario for this bold plan to relocate part of New York's TRACON to Philadelphia?

[B]

I think if it's successful, people will go back to not thinking about it. If it's just part of the system, part of air travel that we take for granted, you'll see fewer delays in New York and around the country. You'll see more flights, and then presumably you'll see fewer close calls. If some of the safety events are related to the staffing situation or any tech issues.

[A]

The FAA says it still believes this will work. It says two dozen controllers are either training or about to enter training at Philadelphia to help with staffing. What will happen if this plan ultimately fails?

[B]

I'm not sure what happens then. They could, I guess, go back to the old setup back in Long Island. But there's a lot riding on this for the faa, airlines, passengers and the country's transportation system. The real test is going to be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. It's a big experiment that we're all sort of caught in the middle of.

[A]

That's all for today. Monday, December 2nd. The Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. If you like our show, follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We're out every weekday afternoon. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.