the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Newark NJ, Newark Liberty International Airport continues to face significant delays and cancellations this Sunday, with over 450 flights affected due to air traffic constraints, staffing shortages, and construction-related disruptions.
As of early evening on May 4, the airport reported 349 delays and 116 cancellations. Average arrival delays exceed three hours, while departing flights are facing delays up to one hour, according to the latest data.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has designated Newark as a “flow constrained area,” a rare move more commonly used during Florida’s peak travel season or severe weather events.
These delays mirror Saturday’s disruptions, when at least 377 flights were delayed and 82 canceled. On Friday, United Airlines announced it would be cutting 35 daily flights at Newark due to ongoing operational challenges.
“It’s now clear — and the FAA tells us — that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “There is no other choice in order to protect our customers.”
🚨 What’s Causing the Chaos at Newark Airport?
The FAA has cited runway construction, equipment outages, and staffing shortages at the Philadelphia Air Traffic Control Center, which manages Newark’s airspace, as primary causes. Reports indicate that 20% of air traffic controllers in Philadelphia walked off the job last week amid ongoing frustrations.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that a major modernization plan for the nation’s air traffic control system is coming soon, with promises of fiber upgrades, new radar systems, radios, and ground sensors to address systemic issues.
Newark’s troubles are now rippling across major U.S. airports, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, and Dallas, according to FlightAware.
✅ What Should Travelers Do?
If you’re flying through Newark, check with your airline before heading to the airport, as rebooking options may be limited due to the high volume of affected passengers.
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Last year the FAA moved the Newark sector TRACON radar controllers to Philadelphia from Ronkonkoma NY. This area of coverage is for arrivals and departures for Newark, and ‘satellites’ (Teterboro, Essex County, Morristown). Apparently many controllers with families and ties to LI NY weren’t about to disrupt their families and move to Philadelphia. Maybe re-assign this to an area of controllers in mid-america with less of a workload? They are looking at screens, not out the window. Our drone pilots in the USA fly planes in wars overseas so one would think this would be possible. The airways are a single lane highway with ‘in trail’ requirements so until there are parallel tracks available the airspace on popular routes such as NY to FL will be saturated at peak times.