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Sean Duffy: “We're 3,000 air traffic controllers short, helping control…”

Featuring: Sean Duffy, Republican | Secretary of Transportation | National

Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges

Published May 28, 2025 | Video Starts at 00:43

It is in desperate need of a brand new build, which I'll talk about in a little bit. In addition, We're 3,000 air traffic controllers short, helping control our skies. But going to Newark, obviously it's gotten a lot of attention. There's been a lot of disruption there. So I want to just continue a brief history of what took place on April 28th. (00:43–00:50)

CLAIM

Asserts a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Sean Duffy

“Of the 22 certified controllers, five of them have taken trauma leave and one of them is on a medical leave.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 04:47-04:55
“On average in Newark, they are running about 50, 54 flights an hour for departures. We've brought that down right now. Departures are at 28…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 06:03-06:17
“We have an antiquated and old air traffic control system anywhere from 25, 35, 40 years old in some places.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 00:26-00:36
“On April 28th, there was a 32nd telecom outage. So we lost radar and we lost telecom.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 01:01-01:08
“On May 9th, again, a 30 second outage, Scopes rebooted and that added another minute onto the timeframe in which we didn't have scopes or…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 01:23-01:34
“At the Philly TRACON controlling Newark, we found that there was a problem, a glitch within our system.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 01:33-01:41
“On May 11, the main line went down and the backup line actually fired. It worked.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 01:54-02:01
“On May 20, there was a two second, we called it a radio outage, but it was static on the line.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 02:15-02:22
“There's three issues. One, we have a Runway that's under construction. Two, we've had a telecom issue. And three, we have a staffing issue…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 02:45-02:56
“Right now we have a Target Date of June 15th of bringing the Runway online.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 03:16-03:21
“Verizon has laid a brand new fiber line between Philadelphia and New York.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 03:35-03:42
“We should be able to turn over to this new fiber line at the start of July.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 03:56-04:02
“We have 27 people. Of the 27 people, 22 are certified controllers and five are supervisors.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 04:38-04:47
“We have 16 controllers working the Philly Tracon.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 04:57-05:01
“In training right now we have 16 controllers in training.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 05:02-05:06
“When the new Runway comes online June 15, we're going to bump that from 28 to 34.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 06:20-06:28
“Congress needs to act to fund a brand new air traffic control system.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 07:34-07:40
“The House has put $12.5 billion into the infrastructure project.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 08:00-08:08
“The permitting process needs to be cleared to avoid delays in the air traffic control system project.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 08:23-08:33
“This is the most critical infrastructure project that this country has at this moment.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 09:02-09:08
“Verizon laid fiber from Philly to New York in record time.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 13:15-13:30
“The Philly TRACON for Newark had multiple outages last year.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 14:38-14:44
“The last administration moved the Newark airspace from N90 down to the Philly TRACON and these lines were not built, they didn't use fiber.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 15:36-15:47
“The system went down for 30 seconds in Newark on the telecom front at least.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 16:09-16:15
“The FENS contract, which in part is to build out the fiber telecom, that contract was over the course of 15 years.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 17:39-17:50
“The last administration signed a 15-year contract to upgrade the telecom.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 17:59-18:05
“Watchdog groups have even told [the last administration] multiple times, you have a real issue with your air traffic control system.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 18:27-18:35
“Outages in Newark, they probably should have hardened those lines, laid fiber before they moved the Newark airspace to Philly.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 18:34-18:44
“The number of flights with the delayed reduction agreement that we got with the airlines at Newark is a flight capacity that the airport can…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 19:40-19:54
“At 28 an hour, it's going to go to 34 an hour when the new Runway comes online.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 19:58-20:04
“We are going to build an air traffic control system that truly is state of the art, that is the best in the world.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 22:11-22:17
“The airspace is going to become more complicated and we need to build a system that can take on that complication, that additional use and…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 22:56-23:10
“It's going to be tens of billions of dollars.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 23:38-23:41
“We are going to in essence gut the air traffic control system and build it brand new everything and we're going to lay all new telecom, new…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 24:23-24:46
“The Congress has given the FAA partial funding. They don't give them the full amount and they get partial projects.”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 26:04-26:11
“We need it all up front, which is that's a big ask for the Congress to give us the money all up front that is necessary if we're going to be…”
Sean Duffy and FAA Deputy Administrator Discuss Newark Airport Upgrades and Air Traffic Control Challenges | Uploaded May 28, 2025 | 26:15-26:24