Controllers lost contact with Newark airplanes for 30 seconds last week, USDOT says

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Monday air traffic controllers overseeing planes at Newark lost contact with aircraft for 30 seconds last week.

"The primary communication line went down, the backup line didn't fire, and so for 30 seconds we lost contact with air traffic," Duffy told Fox News. "Now were planes going to crash - no they have communication devices ... But it's a sign that we have a frail system in place, and it has to be fixed."

Duffy said he plans to unveil a plan on Thursday to seek billions of dollars from Congress to reform air traffic control infrastructure and staffing.