FAA to take immediate steps to address Newark airport fiasco

Telecom failure resulted in most dangerous situation you could have' and hundreds of delays

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday that it was taking immediate steps to address ongoing problems that have disrupted hundreds of flights at the Newark Liberty international airport, one of the US's busiest hubs, which serves New York City and the surrounding region.

The FAA said it was increasing air traffic controller staffing, adding three new high-bandwidth telecommunications connections and deploying a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which is handling Newark traffic during the switch to a more reliable fiber-optic network.