Moving air traffic controllers means retraining them on the quirks of a new facility, and the process can take years.

Most important, the current governance arrangement jeopardizes safety, because the FAA both operates and regulates the air-traffic-control system. This is a clear conflict of interest, and one that the International Civil Aviation Organization has directed member countries to eliminate.

The temporary restrictions are being imposed after repeated flight delays and cancellations. The cap will increase to 68 flights per hour in mid-June.

With summer travel season approaching, the crisis at the New Jersey airport could mean weeks, if not months, of misery for travelers.

Newark airport faces more delays after another ATC outage hits Philly TRACON. Staffing shortages and aging tech worsen travel disruptions.

Recent failures are a symptom of an archaic air traffic infrastructure, made riskier by a shortage of controllers.