Air traffic controller warns passengers against heading to Newark airport amid travel chaos
An air traffic controller has warned that Newark Liberty International Airport is unsafe for passengers as the travel hub has faced a week of disruptions and chaos.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay at the New Jersey airport until midnight ET on Sunday, marking the seventh consecutive day of major delays.
Flights were delayed an average of two hours and 13 minutes on Sunday, with 400 delays and 136 flight cancellations at Newark by 8:30pm, according to Flight Aware. Officials have blamed the disruption on air traffic controller staffing issues and construction.
The massive delays come as the Trump administration has worked to address the air traffic controller shortage, while the president has blamed DEI for the recent spate of aviation disasters.
NBC News correspondent Tom Costello reported that an air traffic controller from Newark told him it was unsafe to fly at the airport: 'He said, "It is not safe. It is not a safe situation right now for the flying public".
'Really an incredible statement, unsolicited. He just said that to me, and separately, "Don't fly into Newark. Avoid Newark at all costs".'
United Airlines cut 35 daily flights from its Newark schedule starting Saturday, citing the FAA's alleged failure to address 'long-simmering' challenges related to the air-traffic control system.
United CEO Scott Kirby said the technology used to manage planes at the New Jersey airport failed more than once in recent days.
The flight delays, cancellations and diversion were compounded when more than one-fifth of Newark's traffic controllers 'walked off the job' he said.
'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,' Kirby wrote in a letter to customers.
Newark Liberty International Airport pointed to both staffing issues and 'construction' when it warned travelers about delays on Thursday.
The FAA last year relocated control of the Newark airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City area traffic.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who intends to propose a plan to fix the crumbling air traffic control infrastructure, visited the FAA Terminal Radar Approach Control at Philadelphia on Friday.
'The technology that we are using is old. That's what is causing the outages and delays we are seeing at Newark,' Duffy said.
Duffy announced a program to recruit new controllers and give existing ones incentives not to retire on Thursday.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a workers' union, said at the time that those moves could help address staffing shortages, but it also said the system is ' long overdue for technology and infrastructure upgrades'.
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