Air traffic control system must be improved to prevent problems like Newark airport, officials say

The problems that disrupted flights at New Jersey's largest airport this spring could be repeated anywhere across the country, so Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to sell Congress on his plan to overhaul the nation's air traffic control system that will cost “tens of billions.”

Duffy provided an update Wednesday on the repairs and staffing efforts that are underway to help eliminate the problems affecting Newark Liberty International Airport, which has been running more smoothly in the past few weeks since the airlines started to cut the number of flights they operate there.

And Duffy emphasized that the Newark radar outages and air traffic control shortage are a prime example of why the antiquated system needs to be improved.

“I’m concerned that we could have more Newarks. And again, why it’s so important that we actually begin this build with the money that Congress is going to send us,” he said.

Duffy still wouldn't give a price tag of his expansive overhaul of the air traffic control system that he said is clearly needed after the deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., in January that killed 67 people and all the problems affecting Newark this spring. But he said the $12.5 billion the House included President Donald Trump's massive bill won't be enough because “it’s going to be tens of billions of dollars.”

Duffy has been meeting privately with lawmakers since he unveiled the plan. But he said he wants to let Congress “do the dance the way the Congress dances” to develop a plan to pay for the program.

The problems that led to hundreds of cancellations and delays at Newark do seem to have improved since the Federal Aviation Administration limited the number of flights at the airport so they could handle it with the number of controllers available. The already short-staffed air traffic control facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark lost five controllers to trauma leave after the first radar and communications outage on April 28 and another one is out on medical leave.

That left the facility with only 16 certified controllers and five supervisors. But Duffy said there are another 16 experienced controllers in training that he hopes will start to get certified between now and October.

That is an example of how the FAA remains about 3,000 short on the number of air traffic controllers it wants, so Duffy has also tried to speed up the hiring and training process while offering incentives to keep experienced controllers from retiring early.

The FAA has said that it expects to be able to bump up the number of flights daily in Newark to 34 arrivals and 34 departures once a runway construction project is completed in mid-June. That is also about the time that some of the controllers on a 45-day trauma leave might be scheduled to return. The FAA will revisit the limits in October because it hopes to have more controllers trained by then.

The government also upgraded the software at the air traffic control facility after a second radar outage on May 9. That helped prevent a repeat problem on May 11.

The FAA is also working on the telecommunications problems. Duffy said Verizon worked quickly to install a new fiber optic line between Philadelphia and New York over the past month, but the FAA wants to thoroughly test it out before switching over, so that likely won't be available until July. After that, the FAA plans to also improve the lines between New York and the Newark airport because some of them are still copper wires.

“Clearly something wasn’t going right when we experienced these outages,” acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau said. “Right now, part of this effort, part of this initiative, is to ensure we’re acting with decisiveness, right — with focus — to make sure the lines get in, to make sure those redundancies are put in, to make sure the controllers have the tools they need to make the system safe, to operate safely.”

In the meantime, Duffy said it would be a good idea for pilots to brush up on their procedures of how to handle an outage because they can happen. In addition to the problems in Newark, controllers in Denver lost their radios for a couple minutes earlier this month. Duffy said there were also several other outages affecting Newark last year that didn't get public attention.

“We have to look at the real world around us and some of the issues that come up and make sure we are brushed up and ready to go, should there be a brief outage," Duffy said. "And again, that there’s a lot of redundancy and a lot of procedures that keep people safe should this happen.”

Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau, right, listens as Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau, right, listens as Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference to provide a status update on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation in Washington, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The party of Kosovo 's Prime Minister Albin Kurti won an early parliamentary election Sunday in the Balkan country by a clear margin, near-complete preliminary results showed.

The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after some 96% of the ballots were counted.

The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election (is this correct?).

It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone.

The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.

Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.

After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovo’s 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant “more legitimacy for our institutions.”

“Once the election result is known, we will do our best to constitute a new parliament as soon as possible and to proceed with the election of the new government,” he said.

Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities.

According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.

Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.

Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo urged voters to “move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years.”

A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”

“Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.

A man folds his ballot prior to voting in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

A couple cast their votes in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Voters fill their ballots behind voting booths for early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Kosovo's acting prime minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti casts his ballot in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)