Transportation Secretary’s Newark Airport Safety Claims Contradicted by Personal Actions

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is facing intense scrutiny and accusations of hypocrisy after admitting to changing his wife’s flight itinerary to avoid traveling through Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey. This revelation directly contradicts Duffy’s repeated public assurances that the airport is safe, despite a series of recent technical outages and reported workforce shortages.

Duffy made the admission during an interview on the David Webb Show, a conservative radio program on SiriusXM. While discussing the ongoing issues at Newark Airport, Duffy casually mentioned that he had altered his wife’s travel plans to reroute her through LaGuardia Airport instead.

This admission is particularly damaging given Duffy’s persistent efforts to downplay the severity of the problems at Newark Airport. He has consistently appeared on television news programs, including CNBC, to reassure the public that flying in and out of Newark is perfectly safe.

On CNBC, Duffy stated confidently, "It’s safe, and that’s because we have numerous redundancies in place at the FAA." He acknowledged the recent telecom issues at the airport but insisted that these incidents are handled effectively through established procedures for air traffic controllers and pilots. He further emphasized that even in the event of telecom failures, alternative protocols ensure the safety of air travel.

However, the reality on the ground at Newark Airport appears to paint a different picture. In the past two weeks, the airport has experienced three significant technical outages at the Philadelphia facility responsible for monitoring air traffic in the New Jersey region.

The first incident occurred on April 28 when radar screens went blank and radios went silent for approximately 30 seconds. This harrowing event was so traumatic that some flight traffic controllers have reportedly taken trauma leave. Another outage occurred on May 9, lasting for about 90 seconds. Most recently, on May 11, an equipment outage caused a ground stop for 45 minutes, disrupting flight schedules and causing significant delays.

Adding to the concerns, a report in The New York Times revealed that during one shift, only three air traffic controllers were monitoring traffic at Newark Airport when the appropriate staffing level should have been fourteen. The report further stated that at times, only one or two fully certified controllers were on duty, raising serious questions about the airport’s ability to maintain safe operations.

Duffy has attributed the problems at Newark Airport to President Joe Biden’s administration, deflecting questions about the potential impact of recent staffing cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the FAA. DOGE reportedly fired hundreds of employees at the FAA.

Duffy has denied that these cuts have affected the agency’s safety mission. He has maintained that the FAA has actually increased its hiring of air traffic controllers during this period. He characterized the employees who were let go as probationary workers who had been with the agency for less than a year and asserted that safety positions were excluded from the cuts. He claimed that most of those laid-off employees have returned.

Critics argue that Duffy’s claims are difficult to verify and that his administration’s track record on transparency raises doubts about the accuracy of his statements. There are concerns that the loss of support staff, such as those who handle logistics and travel arrangements for safety inspectors, could indirectly impact the FAA’s ability to conduct its oversight responsibilities effectively.

The FAA’s response to inquiries about Duffy’s cancelled flight for his wife has been to direct questions to the Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA. As of yet, the DOT has not responded to questions regarding the matter.

The incident has fueled accusations of hypocrisy against Duffy, with critics arguing that his personal actions demonstrate a lack of confidence in the safety of Newark Airport, despite his public pronouncements to the contrary. His decision to reroute his wife’s flight has further undermined public trust in the FAA and raised concerns about the safety of air travel in and out of Newark Liberty Airport.

This situation has created a political firestorm, with calls for greater transparency and accountability regarding the safety of air travel in the United States. The incident has also shone a spotlight on the potential consequences of staffing cuts and the importance of maintaining adequate resources to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the nation’s air transportation system.

The controversy surrounding Transportation Secretary Duffy and Newark Airport is likely to continue to unfold in the coming days and weeks. The public will be watching closely to see how the situation is addressed and whether concrete steps are taken to restore confidence in the safety of air travel.