Flight operations at Newark Liberty International Airport were temporarily halted after smoke was detected in the air traffic control tower on Monday morning. The incident led to an immediate evacuation of air traffic controllers and a ground stop for flights.

According to reports, controllers moved to a backup facility while operations were paused. Flights remained on hold until systems could be shifted and normal functioning restored.

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Smoke triggers evacuation, no fire reported

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) later clarified that there was no fire at the airport. The evacuation was carried out due to a burning smell coming from an elevator inside the tower.

“Arrivals and departures are temporarily paused at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after air traffic controllers evacuated the tower because of a burning smell coming from an elevator,” the FAA said in a statement. The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. local time on March 23.

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Recent near miss raises safety concerns

The disruption comes days after a serious near miss at the same airport involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and a FedEx Boeing 777.

According to reports, the Alaska flight was approaching Runway 22L, while the FedEx aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 29, which intersects with it. As the planes came closer, the spacing between them became unsafe.

At around 300 feet altitude, air traffic control instructed the Alaska flight to abort landing and go around. The aircraft climbed and passed over the FedEx plane, which landed safely.

Both the FAA and NTSB are now investigating the incident, raising concerns about air traffic safety at busy US airports.