For the second week in a row, flights at Newark Liberty International Airport are facing big delays. This airport is one of the three biggest airports near New York City, so it’s a busy place.
Flights are delayed because there are not enough workers to guide planes. Some radar systems are also having problems. Thousands of flights have been delayed. Hundreds have been canceled. United Airlines even stopped 35 flights a day to and from Newark
The situation got worse last week when the radar shut down for 90 seconds. About 20% of air traffic controllers stopped coming to work, and some are now taking 45 days off because of the stress.
The FAA (short for the Federal Aviation Administration) says it plans to hire 2,000 new air traffic controllers this year. But the U.S. is already short 3,000 controllers, and training new controllers takes over 18 months. So, the delays may stick around for a while.