Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 203; Flight Crew Total 10584; Flight Crew Type 7800
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness; Workload
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; No Specific Anomaly Occurred Unwanted Situation
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors; Procedure; Company Policy
During the last 15 months of the pandemic; with greatly reduced traffic volumes; Newark Tower has used the primary tower frequency for the VFR traffic traversing the Class B airspace (helicopters and VFR sight-seers) which used to be on a discreet frequency with their own controller. Now that airliner traffic is returning to normal volumes at Newark; the Tower needs to go back to a dedicated control station and frequency for the helicopter an VFR traffic in their airspace. There is just too much workload and frequency congestion; especially in the early am and afternoon rush hours.
Air Carrier pilot reported excessive frequency congestion at EWR airport due to VFR transitioning aircraft using the same Tower frequency as arrival and departure traffic. The reporter stated these operations used to have separate frequencies to alleviate the congestion.