Air traffic controllers at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center lost communications for approximately 90 seconds on Monday.
The Denver facility covers airspace in multiple states.
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ATC OUTAGE: Another ATC outage occurred on Monday afternoon on a Denver Center frequency for 90 seconds, leaving 15-20 aircraft unable to speak with ATC, according to FAA Deputy Operations Chief Frank Mcintosh.
“At Denver Center, there was a loss of one of the frequencies, and… pic.twitter.com/s2eK71VXG3
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 15, 2025
The incident follows multiple outages at Newark Liberty International Airport.
CNN reports:
At approximately 1:50 p.m. local time on Monday, both transmitters that cover a segment of airspace went down, causing controllers to use another frequency to relay instructions to pilots, the FAA said in a preliminary statement on Thursday.
“Aircraft remained safely separated and there were no impacts to operations,” according to the FAA.
ADVERTISEMENTIt’s unclear what caused the outage. The FAA is currently investigating.
The Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center covers approximately 285,000 square miles of airspace, encompassing all or part of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana, according to its website.
Update: In a statement, the FAA said the control center in Longmont lost communications at around 1:50 p.m. when both transmitters that cover a segment of airspace went down and that the administration is investigating the outage. https://t.co/58ZuxTBWyI
— The Denver Post (@denverpost) May 15, 2025
Air traffic controllers in Denver lost communications with planes around that major airport for 90 seconds earlier this week and had to scramble to use backup frequencies in the latest FAA equipment failure. https://t.co/y4gi0pSibN
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) May 15, 2025
From The Washington Post:
The outage comes after weeks of disruptions at Newark International Airport, caused in part by technology outages at a facility that handles planes in the area, and is another indication of dysfunction with the FAA’s systems. The agency has struggled to modernize, and it relies in many cases on aging gear to manage the tens of thousands of aircraft that travel around the country daily. The Trump administration has pledged to accelerate upgrades, outlining a three-year plan of investments.
The Denver facility is responsible for traffic in a 285,000-square-mile area in Colorado and parts of neighboring states. It handles aircraft in the middle of their journeys, in contrast with the facility implicated in the Newark disruptions, which is responsible for handling the approach to the airport.
In Newark’s case, officials have blamed communications links and failed backup procedures for outages. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said this week that the FAA has already made some improvements, and the agency has a plan for further changes.
This year’s deadly crash between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet, followed by the chaos at Newark, has put the FAA under unusually heavy scrutiny. FAA officials sat for two days of hearings in Congress this week, listening to lawmakers who wanted reassurance that their constituents were safe to fly, and the agency is hosting meetings with airlines to discuss schedule reductions to ease the pressure on Newark.
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