Lawmakers react to Newark airport chaos: ‘Your family deserves to know you’ll be safe'

Lawmakers spoke retired to Fox News Digital connected Tuesday arsenic chaos ensued astatine 1 of the nation’s busiest airports.

"Our squad has reached retired to the FAA to get answers connected what steps they’re taking to resoluteness this situation," said Sen. Andy Kim, a Democrat connected the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee -- who besides represents the Garden State wherever the airdrome is located.

"Your household deserves to cognize that erstwhile you fly, you’ll beryllium harmless and you’ll get determination connected time. We’ll support pressing to marque definite it happens," Kim said.

Across the aisle, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito lamented the "very outdated" aerial postulation power strategy and spoke of the shortage of controllers writ large.

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EWR, left, and Sean Duffy, right (Getty)

"[That] makes for the turmoil we’re seeing astatine Newark," Capito told Fox News Digital.

"I would similar to spot much accountability astatine FAA, which is wherefore I person projected to Commerce Committee Chairman Cruz’s squad a nationalist facing dashboard to amusement FAA’s advancement successful updating their systems arsenic good arsenic hiring much controllers."

While Democrats similar DNC Chairman Ken Martin mocked USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy implicit the latest air-travel-related crisis, Capito countered that the Wisconsin Republican recognizes the challenges America’s skies face.

"I enactment his efforts to finalize a program that I anticipation to reappraisal soon," she said.

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 Martin tweeted that "in lawsuit you missed it, Sean Duffy, determination were adjacent misses astatine DCA [Ronald Reagan-Washington National Airport successful Crystal City, Va.], aerial postulation power screens are going acheronian astatine Newark, and America’s aerial question strategy is falling isolated nether your and Donald Trump’s watch."

"Anyway, anticipation the tacos were good," helium said, seemingly referring to a photograph Duffy posted connected X posing with steak tacos his woman prepared for meal by his "#LatinaWife." 

Late Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a erstwhile Newark politician himself wrote a lengthy missive to Duffy saying that given, "the superior consequences for our nation’s aviation system, it is captious that the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instrumentality each indispensable steps to place and code the underlying causes of the ongoing formation disruptions."

"I admit that the USDOT has already responded to this ongoing concern by identifying the value of exertion upgrades crossed the full aerial postulation power system, and I americium committed to supporting these efforts successful Congress."

"However, I inquire that you besides instantly nonstop further unit and resources successful bid to reconstruct regular operations astatine EWR successful the days ahead. This is of peculiar value arsenic the engaged summertime question play approaches, which volition enactment further unit connected EWR and the region’s airspace. Specifically, I petition that you instrumentality further steps to code the staffing shortages astatine the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility, which person contributed importantly to the repeated suspension and interruption of formation operations astatine EWR."

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., different committee member, told Fox News Digital that maintaining America’s "busiest and astir precocious airspace successful the world" requires a skilled workforce and dependable tech.

"The radar outages astatine Newark enactment Air Traffic Controllers successful an intolerable situation, endangered incoming flights and show the urgent request for modernization of our systems," said Moran, who on with Sens. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., besides introduced the Air Traffic Control Workforce Development Act to bolster that workforce sector.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital aboriginal Tuesday that arsenic a "member of the Senate Transportation Committee this is profoundly concerning to me. The Biden medication spent years backing thing different than important upgrades and updates to outdated FAA technology."

"I deliberation galore of america volition beryllium asking questions astir however this occurred and however we tin enactment with Secretary Duffy and Chairman Cruz to hole it. The flying nationalist deserves to cognize that they are harmless and unafraid erstwhile flying successful American airspace," Lummis said.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said: "The ongoing concern astatine Newark Airport is yet different illustration of the tremendous strain our aviation strategy is under—something I’ve been raising the alarm connected for years—and it further underscores the urgent request to put successful updated aerial postulation power systems and equipment, not chopped FAA’s backing and workforce."

A fatal mid-air collision and consequent adjacent misses astatine Washington, D.C. area's Reagan National Airport person added to concerns astir the nation's air-traffic power system. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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"As Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee, I person questions astir some Newark and the caller incidental adjacent the Pentagon. Congress needs answers. The information of the flying nationalist depends connected it."

In a lengthy connection obtained by Fox News and Fox Business, the FAA acknowledged that "several large airlines are facing ongoing formation disruptions astatine New Jersey's Newark-Liberty International Airport arsenic the installation contends with ongoing staffing and exertion issues."

"Last week, aerial postulation controllers astatine the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility successful Philadelphia mislaid radar and vigor signals portion directing planes to Newark for astir 90 seconds, causing important delays and formation cancellations that stay ongoing," the connection continued, going connected to notation the longstanding issues cited by Capito.

"We are moving to guarantee the existent telecommunications instrumentality is much reliable successful the New York country by establishing a much resilient and redundant configuration with the section speech carriers. In addition, we are updating our automation strategy to amended resiliency," the bureau said.