New York TRACON

But it is what happened.

So as we have talked about many, many times over the past couple years, the control over Newark and its satellite airports and that airspace was moved from the N90 TRACON here in New York down to Philly Center.

When that move first happened, it was plagued with issues with their basically remote connection more or less.

In computer IT speak, they were VPN-ing into the N90 facility.

There were gate holds and taxi delays.

The disruption involved equipment at New York TRACON, which helps manage the crowded airspace in our region.

The restrictions were later lifted and operations returned to normal.

A knife-wielding attacker who slashed a woman's face at Newark Airport will spend decades in prison.

Stopping the departures may have saved United 93, but we will never know.

It takes approximately three to ten minutes for New York TRACON to effectively stop departures with the amount of phone calls needed to be made to the control towers and that information being given to the controllers in a timely manner.

These facilities are the hardest hit.

The New York TRACON, Southern California TRACON, Chicago TRACON, and Miami TRACON have all reported staffing levels that require daily and sometimes mandatory overtime from controllers who are already working at the edge of their rest requirements.

That matters because tired controllers make different decisions than rested ones.

They are not less professional, they are human.