The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday defended moving Newark Liberty International Airport’s airspace control to Philadelphia in a statement released in the wake of recent turmoil

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy keeps going on TV and insisting it’s safe to fly in and out of Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, despite a string of extremely frightening outages and workforce shortages recently. But Duffy has now admitted he changed a flight booked for his wife on Monday so that she wouldn’t have to travel through Newark.

At times Monday evening, as few as three air traffic controllers per hour were lined up to monitor via radar the planes flying into and out of the airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The award-winning new Terminal A may be the pride of Newark Liberty International Airport. But behind the scenes, the technology that’s keeping the planes in the sky is frighteningly out of date. Some of it relies on floppy discs and used parts sourced from eBay, federal officials said this week.

Flight delays and safety concerns at Newark Airport has pushed FAA funding levels back into the headlines as the idea of issuing user fee supported bonds to provide a non-political revenue stream comes back to life.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says a new software update prevented a third radar outage over the last two weeks at New Jersey's busy Newark airport when a telecommunications line failed again over the weekend.

Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said the FAA is not being transparent enough after visiting air traffic controllers in Philadelphia and Newark.

One air traffic controller (ATC) and a trainee will operate every flight in and out of Newark between 6.30pm-9.30pm — despite 15 staffers being the standard requirement for a shift.