US transportation secretary rerouted wife’s flight despite public claims Newark was safe
Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary under the Trump administration, revealed this week that he changed his wife’s flight plans to steer her away from Newark Liberty International Airport—despite his repeated public declarations that the airport was safe for travelers.
On Monday, Duffy acknowledged that he had redirected his wife’s travel from Newark to LaGuardia, contradicting statements he made just a day earlier. During an appearance on NBC News’s Meet the Press on Sunday, he firmly defended Newark’s safety, brushing aside concerns over recent radar system outages. “It is,” Duffy said when asked if the airport was secure. “I fly out of Newark all the time, my family flies out of Newark.”
But his remarks shifted hours later during a conversation with conservative radio host David Webb on SiriusXM. “My wife was flying out of Newark tomorrow, I switched her flight to LaGuardia,” Duffy admitted. The comment was first reported by Gizmodo.
Newark Liberty, one of the busiest hubs in the New York metropolitan area and the 12th busiest airport in the nation, handled over 49 million passengers in 2023—its highest number on record. Recently, however, the airport has been plagued by a series of technical failures, including radar outages, staffing shortages, and ongoing runway construction. These issues have caused significant disruption and raised questions about air traffic safety.
In just the past two weeks, Newark has experienced three radar-related failures tied to computer malfunctions. The most serious incident occurred last Friday, when a 90-second communication blackout cut off all contact between the control tower and aircraft.
Personnel shortages have further complicated operations. On Monday, only three of the 14 scheduled air traffic controllers reported for duty, leading to delays of up to seven hours.
These persistent challenges have put Duffy and the Trump administration in a difficult position. While Duffy has attempted to project calm and confidence, he’s also tried to pin the blame on the previous Biden administration. That strategy has drawn criticism, including from former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, who responded, “Duffy needs to spend more time doing what the American people are paying him to do – fix problems – and less time blaming others.”
Duffy’s messaging efforts have been further undermined by the influence of Elon Musk and his cost-cutting group, Doge, which has pushed staffing reductions at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While Duffy claimed on Meet the Press that safety-critical roles like air traffic controllers were not affected, he did concede that some laid-off staff have since been reinstated.
“Elon and I get on really well,” Duffy said. “He understands the importance of the air space and the need to have good controllers.”
