WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. government

watchdog said on Monday it will probe the Federal Aviation

Administration's 2024 decision to relocate some Newark air

traffic controllers to Philadelphia from New York to address

staffing shortages and congested New York City-area airspace.

The Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General

is opening the review after two serious communications outages

for air traffic controllers overseeing Newark's airspace in

April and May sparked alarm and delayed dozens of flights.

The New Jersey airport is one of the main airports serving

New York City and a hub for United Airlines. In May, the

FAA ordered flight cuts at Newark following a series of major

disruptions.

"These events have raised questions about FAA's management

of the relocation, including impacts on system redundancy,

controller staffing and training, and operational resilience,"

the inspector general's office said.

The FAA required 17 air traffic controllers to move from New

York Terminal Radar Approach Control, known as N90, to

Philadelphia in late July last year. New York TRACON is one of

the busiest U.S. facilities. The FAA said "persistent low

staffing levels and low training success rate" at N90 were among

the reasons to move control of the Newark airspace in a bid to

boost staffing levels and help ease congestion.

On Monday, the FAA said it welcomed feedback and would

cooperate fully with the audit.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who sought the probe,

has questioned if the administration of former President Joe

Biden took enough precautions to ensure telecommunications

reliability when ordering the move.

Earlier this month, the FAA began using a new fiber optic

communications network between New York and the Philadelphia

TRACON that directs aircraft in and out of Newark.

Last week, the FAA extended cuts to minimum flight

requirements at congested New York City airports through October

2026.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of

targeted staffing levels. A series of near-miss incidents has

raised safety concerns in recent years, while the persistent

staffing shortage has delayed flights and forced controllers at

many facilities to work mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.

Congress approved $12.5 billion this month to boost hiring

and overhaul the system.