Newark Airport getting new safety technology to prevent runway incidents

A major safety upgrade is coming to Newark Airport with technology designed to help prevent dangerous close calls on the runway

The nation’s top transportation officials will be at Newark to install a new surface radar system. It’s designed to help controllers better track planes and vehicles moving around the airport. Most importantly, it will help prevent runway incidents

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford will be at the airport Tuesday morning for the installation of a new surface movement radar (SMR)

The FAA says the technology will improve safety by giving controllers better information about what’s happening. 

This comes as airport safety is on travelers’ minds after the deadly runway incident at LaGuardia Airport in March. Two pilots died, and dozens of people were injured after an Air Canada plane and a Port Authority emergency truck collided on a runway. 

The FAA has not said this project is a response to that crash. It’s part of a much broader modernization already underway at Newark. 

The project includes replacing older, copper-based telecommunications with fiber and moving more of the system to digital technology. 

For passengers, the FAA says the upgrades could mean fewer delays and departure times could become more predictable

Better aircraft tracking and flow management could also help minimize noise for residents nearby, according to transportation officials.