Sean Duffy, US Secretary of Transport, said this Monday, March 23, that New York’s LaGuardia Airport has “sufficient staff”, but still faces a “shortage” of air traffic controllers, after a collision on the runway left two dead.
Speaking at the airport, where on Sunday night an Air Canada plane collided with a fire engine, Sean Duffy stressed that at the time of the accident more than one controller was on duty, despite the lack of these professionals.
“I can’t give details about what went wrong”said Duffy, referring the matter to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is leading the investigation into the accident at the third busiest airport in the New York region — in an already turbulent period for North American airports due to the partial government shutdown.
Canada also sent a team of investigators to investigate the case.
According to Duffy, there are currently 33 certified controllers, but the goal is to reach 37.
Flights at LaGuardia Airport resumed this afternoon, with only one of the two runways in operation and long delays.
Local media reported that the collision happened on runway four, when the CRJ-900 plane, from the Canadian airline Air Canada, coming from Montreal, was landing.
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