Newark air traffic controllers briefly lost contact with planes, union says

The incident led to multiple employees being on trauma leave, contributing to hundreds of delayed or diverted flights.

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The 28 April incident led to multiple employees going on trauma leave, contributing to hundreds of delayed flights. More than 150 flights were cancelled on Monday alone, according to tracking website FlightAware.

The airport, one of New York's busiest hubs, has been grappling with staff shortages for more than a week.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Monday that contact with air traffic was lost for "30 seconds", but it did not mean that the planes were going to crash.

"The primary communication line went down, the backup line didn't fire, and so for 30 seconds we lost contact with air traffic," Duffy told Fox News