Chuck Schumer Demands Full IG Investigation Into Newark Airport Amid Delays, Cancelations

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about major delays and mass cancelations at Newark Airport in New Jersey.

Transcript

00:00On Newark Airport. For months, and now especially this week, Americans flying in and out of Newark

00:07Airport have experienced increasing delays and disruptions. Airlines are canceling flights.

00:13There's a shortage of air traffic controllers. They're relying on 1990s technology in 2025.

00:20One Newark air traffic controller even said that flying into Newark is, quote, not safe, unquote.

00:25Quote, keeping the flying public safe and our national airspace efficient is the responsibility of Donald Trump's FAA.

00:33They're failing spectacularly. So today I am demanding a full inspector general office investigation into what happened at Newark

00:42so these problems do not get worse or spread to other airports around the nation.

00:47I'm demanding that the office, the OIG, investigate, the Office of Inspector General, investigate answers to these questions.

00:58One, why were Potomac TRACON, Philadelphia TRACON, and New York TRACON, the control towers in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York,

01:07excluded from the FAA's list of hard-to-staff facilities even when there was a clear shortage?

01:13They gave 13 other facilities bonus pay so they could attract more people.

01:20Why not New York, Washington, and Philadelphia where it's worse?

01:24Second, what was the plan?

01:26What's the plan to reduce decades-old technology and equipment and infrastructure at airports?

01:31One of the reasons Newark had a problem was a copper wire burnt.

01:35Did they ever hear of fiber optics over there at the FAA?

01:40And three, what is the plan to quickly fill critical leadership vacancies?

01:46Members have been fired in the FAA. Others have quit and have just discussed.

01:53Well, there's a lot of vacancies, especially in the higher positions.

01:58We need to fill them. What's the plan?

02:01Other airports across the nation could see similar problems like Newark if the FAA does not take this investigation seriously.

02:07We need respect again.

02:09We need respect for questions at the moment.

02:10Episode 4

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