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A series of crises has led to chaos at Newark Liberty International Airport, with flight cancellations, delays, and staff shortages causing major disruptions for a week.
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s going at the airport that serves New Jersey and New York City.
What’s happening at Newark Airport
Officials have identified three major reasons for the problems at Newark Airport: an air traffic controller walk-off, technology issues caused by old equipment, and the closing of runway that needs to be fixed.
These problems have hit United Airlines (UAL-0.79%), which has a hub in Newark, particularly hard. The airline had to cancel 35 round-trip flights per day starting this weekend, saying in a statement, “We feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers.”
It also caused the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a Ground Delay Program at Newark Sunday, pushing back flights by an average of close to four hours. On Monday, scores of flight were still delayed and many were cancelled.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy called the delays and cancellations “completely and utterly unacceptable.”
Staffing issues at Newark Airport
The air traffic controller shortage is far from a new issue, but it escalated last week when workers at Newark walked off the job, making it harder for the airport to operate at a normal capacity.
United CEO Scott Kirby said that more than 20% of controllers at Newark joined the protest.
“Keep in mind, this particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it’s now clear — and the FAA tells us — that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” the CEO said.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the union representing air traffic controllers, did not immediately return a request for comment, but has said the U.S. needs thousands more controllers to combat the staffing shortage.
Technology issues at Newark Airport
The staffing issues are just part of the problem plaguing Newark. Kirby explained in his note on the disruptions that “technology that FAA air traffic controllers rely on to manage the airplanes coming in and out of Newark airport failed” in the past days. The result: “dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans,” he explained.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy wrote on X that “the technology that we are using is old. That’s what is causing the outages and delays we are seeing at Newark.”
“If we don’t act, we will start to see these issues across the national airspace,” he added, saying he wants to build a brand new air traffic control system to combat this very issue.
“The National Airspace System is also long overdue for technology and infrastructure upgrades,” the National Air Traffic Controllers Association has said. “The nation’s air traffic controllers, other aviation safety professionals, and a all participating in the United States aviation system deserve the world’s best air traffic control system.”
Runway construction at Newark Airport
Amid staffing issues and failing technology, a pre-planned renovation at the airport is making matters worse.
Starting April 15, the airport closed Runway 4L-22R as part of a $121 million rehabilitation project, making operations even more difficult. Newark Airport’s website says it expects the construction to be done in mid-June — and notes that, when operating, 4L-22R is the airport’s busiest runway for departing flights.