It's been a tough week for Newark Liberty International Airport. Friday marked the fifth day in a row with significant delays and cancellations, with an equipment outage, staffing shortages and construction contributing.
The delays have been so bad, that United Airlines is "unilaterally cancelling 35 roundtrip flights per day from our Newark schedule starting this weekend," CEO Scott Kirby wrote in a letter to customers Friday that was published on United's website. Newark is a United hub.
"In the past few days, on more than one occasion, technology that FAA air traffic controllers rely on to manage the airplanes coming in and out of Newark airport failed—resulting in dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and worse of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans," Kirby wrote.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has a traffic management program in effect at Newark, which means airport capacity could be significantly reduced for an extended period, according to the FAA website. The airport has closed runway 4L-22R from April 15 to mid-June for rehabilitation, according to its website, which added that it is the busiest runway for departing flights.
While Newark has been known for chronic problems due to FAA air traffic control shortages—United Airlines temporarily cut its schedule in summer 2023 at the airport, citing disruptions due to weather as well as a shortage of air traffic controllers in the region—the latest problems were exacerbated beginning April 28 with an FAA equipment outage, as posted by the airport's X account.
That account as of early Friday afternoon said flights "continue to be disrupted due to FAA staffing shortages, with delays and cancellations expected to continue throughout the day. Please check your flight status with your airline before heading to the airport."
Kirby also wrote that more than 20 percent of FAA controllers for Newark "walked off the job," but that could not be confirmed.
When asked for comment, an FAA spokesperson directed BTN to posts on X. On Friday evening, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X that he visited the Philadelphia traffic control center today to "talk with our hard working air traffic controllers as we work to fix these equipment outages caused by outdated technology. It's unacceptable. We are working to harden the system. But this is why it's critical that we build an all-new air traffic control system."
The FAA account on X shared Duffy's post and added that "the FAA will continue to be transparent with the public about the status of EWR and every airport."
Kirby added in his message that "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 problems at Newark are one reason why United could seek a partnership with JetBlue. Such a deal could return the Chicago-based carrier slots at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which it departed in 2022. JetBlue on Tuesday during an earnings call said it would announce a new partner by the end of the second quarter, and Reuters reported, citing sources, that partner would be United.
United did not immediately respond to a request for additional information on the flights being canceled or for how long the cancellations would last.
FAA Investments, Incentives
Kirby also said he spoke with Duffy on Friday afternoon and is "pleased that the new administration has put together a proposal for a large, systemwide investment in FAA technology, infrastructure and staffing."
It is not clear when those investments will occur and how soon they can alleviate the issues at Newark. FAA on Thursday posted a release that said Duffy unveiled a new package of actions to "supercharge the air traffic controller workforce." His original program was announced in February.
The new recruitment and retention incentive package includes $5,000 awards for academy graduates who successfully complete the initial qualifications and for new hires who successfully complete the initial qualification training, and a $10,000 award for graduates who are assigned to one of 13 hard-to-staff air traffic facilities. Those facilities were not listed. FAA also is offering controllers eligible to retire but younger than the mandatory age of 56 a lump-sum payment of 20 percent of their basic pay for each year they continue to work.
FAA has offered incentives in the past, but the ATC shortages have persisted.
In March 2024, FAA said it would relocate the control of Newark by June 30, 2024, to the Philadelphia Air Traffic Control Tower, and that it would require 17 ATCs to relocate. Despite offering $100,000 awards and other incentives, not enough controllers volunteered to transfer. The FAA also projected that the New York facility would not reach 70 percent of the targeted staffing level until the end of 2026.
The FAA has extended slot waivers at the three major New York City area airports—Newark, LaGuardia Airport and JFK—through Oct. 25, 2025. The waivers allow carriers to reduce their schedules while retaining their slots. The goal of the waivers was to reduce congestion attributed to staff shortages.