On Monday morning, a sudden evacuation of the air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey led to a temporary halt of all incoming and outgoing flights. The incident was prompted by smoke infiltration from an elevator, which forced controllers to leave their posts.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the airport closure but refrained from commenting on the exact cause of the smoke or its composition. As the situation unfolded, air traffic controllers were hastily relocated to a backup facility within the airport, a measure confirmed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, responsible for overseeing airport operations.
Fortunately, the disruption was short-lived, and the staff soon returned to the primary tower to resume operations. This swift resolution ensured minimal impact on the airport’s schedule, allowing flights to proceed with only brief delays.
It’s important to note that this incident at Newark Liberty was unrelated to a tragic event at New York’s LaGuardia Airport the previous night. On that occasion, a fatal accident occurred when an Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck on the runway during its landing. This resulted in the deaths of two individuals and left several others seriously injured.
Earlier this month, four airports serving Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia, halted all flights for over an hour because of a strong chemical smell that was impeding air traffic controllers.
Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the source of the strong odor was traced to a circuit board that overheated and was replaced.
The Newark Liberty was not related to a fatal accident at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night.
In that episode, two people were killed and several others were seriously injured when an Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on a runway while landing, as – News reported.
