Are we at a point where grounding all flights with only high-priority air travel (no idea what that would look like…maybe a threshold of 25% of normal???) becomes necessary?
Newark, today, went through the third blackout
Then Hartsfield in Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport
The project to update & replace the equipment at every airport will hopefully get expedited before more lives are lost.
I’ve flown out of Newark and other NYC area Airports literally thousands of times and they have been a mess as long as I can remember, especially Newark. I’m surprised it has taken this long for the problems to become more severe and more public.
The rest of the country is still working about as well as it always has but I’m very happy there is a new commitment to improving the systems.
I’ve only flown in/out of Newark a dozen or so times. Hartsfield, on the other hand, is an airport I’ve used hundreds of times, several flights a year for 17 straight years.
Just hoping that we don’t start seeing more tragic incidents.
Wouldn’t it be a trip if one of the Elon Musk companies ended up winning the bid to update the ATC system? I can just hear the haters screaming now. T & MDS; and “terminal” to boot. (pun intended)
For a few years I had to commute from New York to Miami every week and flew out of Newark every Monday at 6:00am and back every Thursday night at 10:00pm. Flying out on Mondays was a manageable nightmare because all the other “commuters” and business travelers all wanted the early morning flights. But Thursday returns were ALWAYS delayed because after 4:00pm Newark just falls apart just about every day especially closer to weekends when everyone is coming home.
Makes one wonder if these outages are also caused by someone or a group hacking into these systems just to prove a point. Knowing that these systems are outdated.
Certainly possible, though I suspect it truly is equipment related. I’d think if it were the result of an intentional act, it would be more widespread and for a longer duration.
True, but it does make one wonder.
Every day there seems to be another news report which re-confirms my log held choice NOT to fly anywhere, ever. It makes me smile every time.
THAT! 
My Good Sir is EXACTLY what is going to happen. My Tin Foil Hat is in a drawer and not needed for this discussion ! 
WASHINGTON (AP) — A satellite company owned by Elon Musk has the inside track to potentially take over a large federal contract to modernize the nation’s air traffic communications system.
Equipment from Musk’s Starlink has been installed in Federal Aviation Administration facilities as a prelude to a takeover of a $2 billion contract held by Verizon, according to government employees, contractors and people familiar with the work.
Musk said that the network used by air traffic controllers is aging and requires drastic and quick action to modernize it.
“The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk,” Musk on Monday posted on X, the social media site he has owned since 2022.
The emergence of Starlink as a potential replacement for the Verizon-led effort underscores the extraordinary conflicts of interest inherent in Musk’s position as both a senior White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a business mogul in charge of a sprawling array of companies. It is not clear what role Musk might be playing in helping Starlink parent company SpaceX win such business
EDIT.: Article from Associated Press not the 'WOO WOO Tymes! HA! 
You can take that to da Bank my friend!
WWG1WGA
NCSWIC
I gave up flying long, long time ago. I’d drive anyway, might take a little while, but also enjoy the scenery along the way.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Give that man a Cheroot!
Disruption, Resist, Anarchy, Fear Powder…hmmmmmm where have we heard that before?
Hey, speaking of Dumbocrats and Grifters where has the former Transpo ‘Secretary’ gone?
Is he back from ‘Maternity leave’ yet?
Does he know there’s been a Leadership change?
He was as Successful as a Transportation Secretary as our former Border Czar!
Sadly, I’m not making this sh!t up! TRUTH is stupider than Fiction… Hey a Squirrel!
Possible.
I think that we will find, eventually (DOGE?), that the majority of the funds provided in Transportation flowed into “pockets” rather than hard assets.
For them, it is “win-win.” They become rich via corruption while claiming," We need to raise taxes to to generate funds to improve Transportation!"
You know, The Mob used to be jailed for extortion, but the Politicians have “legalized” it.
And no, I don’t expect the feckless Republicans to do anything other than to ask that taxpayers to donate to get then re-elected.
Just say’n.
Good point.
Elon may get a contract, who knows?
The issue with space based ATC is that satellites (Star Link) can be easily affected by cloud cover. I could see it as a temporary backup perhaps if the fiber optic lines are disrupted. Have you ever read your GPS and have it say “Trouble finding satellites, continue anyway?”
Weather systems can be 100 miles wide or more.
