Communications and radar displays guiding Newark Liberty aviation traffic ceased to function for 90 seconds on 9 May, the US Federal Aviation Administration has reported. "There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International airport airspace," the FAA notes, adding: "The outage occurred around 3:55am on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds." United Airlines – which in May is set to operate 68% of all flights arriving at and departing Newark Liberty, says that it does not "have anything to share on the outage". The day before the radar outage at Newark, on 8 May, US Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy announced a plan to build a "brand new, state-of-the-art" air traffic control system for airspace in the USA. The announcement of the plan, which requires Congressional approval before going into effect, follows an equipment outage on 28 April at Newark Liberty that caused residual delays to flights. United chief executive Scott Kirby said in a 2 May message to customers, and shared on United's website, that "the technology issues [at Newark] were compounded as over 20% of the FAA controllers for EWR walked off the job". Kirby writes in an 9 May LinkedIn post that "the weeks of continued disruptions at Newark Liberty International airport has put America's air traffic control system in the spotlight and has revealed a broken system". He adds in the LinkedIn post: "Decades of failing to properly invest in the system has prevented good-faith efforts to make technology upgrades and bolster the staffing of our nation's hard-working air traffic controllers."

Air Canada will launch a raft of new routes to Central and South America and the Caribbean this winter in what the carrier describes as its largest Latin American network expansion to date. In December, it will begin seasonal flights from Toronto to Cartagena and Rio de Janeiro, and from Montreal to Santiago and Cartagena. The winter season will also bring the addition of flights from Toronto to Guadalajara in Mexico and Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe; from Montreal to Guatemala; from Quebec to Fort-de-France in Martinique; from Ottawa to Nassau in the Bahamas and Montego Bay in Jamaica; from Halifax to Nassau and Montego Bay; and from Vancouver to Huatulco in Mexico. The Star Alliance carrier will also lift frequencies on existing routes from Toronto to Los Cabos, Nassau, Montego Bay, Monterrey and St Maarten; from Montreal to Punta Cana, St Maarten and Montego Bay; and from Vancouver to Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. "Air Canada is delivering on its New Frontiers strategy with the expansion of its Latin America presence this winter," states commercial chief and cargo head Mark Galardo. "Our Latin America winter schedule has been built to serve both Canadian and global sixth-freedom connecting travellers, as well as capitalise on growing cargo opportunities." The deployment of additional capacity to the Latin American market comes amid falling demand for travel between Canada and the USA, following the imposition of trade tariffs by US president Donald Trump and rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state. Last month, Canadian carrier WestJet suspended scheduled services between Vancouver and Austin in Texas, citing a "downward shift in demand for US travel".

US Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary Sean Duffy has announced a plan to build a "brand new, state-of-the-art" air traffic control system. The new system will be "the envy of the world", the DOT said in an 8 May press release. "By replacing the current, antiquated system, the FAA will enhance safety in the sky, reduce delays, and unlock the future of air travel. This plan also ensures hard-working air traffic controllers have a system they can rely on and one they deserve," it adds. The plan will see the Federal Aviation Administration replace core infrastructure including radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks "to manage modern travel", the DOT states. It is comprised of four infrastructure components: communications, surveillance, automation and facilities. "Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age," states Duffy. "Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now. The unprecedented coalition of support we've assembled – from labour to industry – is indicative of just how important it is to this administration to get done what no one else could. The American people are counting on us, and we won't let them down." Some "critical actions" under the plan will include replacing "antiquated" telecommunications with new fibre, wireless and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites, including 25,000 new radios and 475 new voice switches, as well as replacing 618 radars that have reached end-of-life. The plan also envisages addressing runway safety by increasing the number of airports with Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) to 200. SAI "delivers capabilities to improve controller situational awareness and reduce runway incursions", according to the FAA. Furthermore, the plan involves building six new air traffic control centres for the first time since the 1960s and replacing towers and Terminal Radar Approach Control Facilities (TRACONs), as well as installing new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities to create a common platform system throughout towers, TRACONs and centres. The plan also looks at "addressing the challenges that face Alaska by adding 174 new weather stations".