Exclusive | Confessions of an air traffic controller: Why travelers should avoid Newark like the plague

Chaos continues to reign at Newark Liberty International Airport, where, in the last few weeks, there have been hundreds of flight cancellations, diversions, and delays, a handful of ground stoppages, and life-threatening technical glitches.Exhausted and over-extended air traffic controllers say they are working six days a week, 10 hours at a time, to ensure the skies above Newark and the Big Apple remain friendly.

The Post’s Chris Harris spoke about the ongoing mess at EWR with one of the 13 air traffic controllers who manage flights in and out of Newark from a building more than 80 miles away in Philadelphia.The controller spoke on the condition of anonymity.

I’ve been an air traffic controller since I was 18, and as a flier, I would avoid Newark.Lately, I’ve been flying out of JFK or LaGuardia, because it’s safer, and there’ve been some crazy-ass delays at Newark.I started telling family and friends last summer to avoid Newark like the plague, because we knew it was going to be bad, we just didn’t think it was going to be this bad with all of the technological issues.This is a busy area, with the three major airports and all these satellite airports — it’s like a bee’s nest.

Back in the ’60s, two airplanes collided over Brooklyn, killing 134 people on the planes and on the ground.So, the FAA went, ‘Hey, you know what? We should put all of these people who control these airports in the same building because it would be safer.’And it was safer.Now, they’re like, ‘Let’s dismantle it.’Five years ago, they decided they were going to move Newark’s controllers from Long Island to Philly, and we tried to fight it.

Last summer I was essentially forced [to move to Philadelphia].We had 33 controllers in New York, and only 24 made the move.We are understaffed.

In 10 months, instead of having people succeed in Philadelphia, we’ve had 11 say, ‘F–k this, I am not doing this.’ So now, we’re down to 22.Three more are retiring this...