Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says a new software update prevented a third radar outage over the last two weeks at New Jersey's busy Newark airport when a telecommunications line failed again over the weekend.

A backup software system at Newark Airport prevented a third radar outage, ensuring operations continued despite the primary system failing.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that “fast-track” fixes are being made to address the continuing communications and radar failures at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Sunday's incident marks the fourth time in the past two weeks that technical problems have disrupted air traffic at Newark.

The shortage on Monday forced the F.A.A. to delay flights to the busy airport for up to nearly seven hours, the latest problem to plague the airport.

At times Monday evening, as few as three air traffic controllers per hour were lined up to monitor via radar the planes flying into and out of the airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

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

Radar screens at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport went black again early Friday morning. The outage happened at 3:55 a.m. and lasted about 90 seconds, the Federal Aviation Administration said.