FAA Limits Capacity Out of Newark, Airlines Endorse Restrictions
The flight caps went into effect on Tuesday, but it is unclear if Newark will be able to fix most of its operational issues before those caps are lifted.
Ahead of what is expected to be one of the busiest summers on record for air travel, the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to reduce flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport.
As part of the order, Newark will be able to accommodate only 28 arrivals and 28 departures an hour until runway construction is complete. Outside of the construction period, the airport can accommodate 34 arrivals and departures an hour until October 25.
The FAA said daily construction at Newark will end June 15, but will continue on Saturdays until the end of the year.
'Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,' Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said in a statement.
FAA to Make Tech, Staffing Improvements Out of Newark
To make operations at Newark more efficient, the FAA is also adding three new high-bandwidth telecommunications connections between New York and Philadelphia. Air traffic controllers who oversee airspace around Newark were relocated to Philadelphia last year.
The agency also said it would increase staffing in Philadelphia. Low staffing in the area and absences led to thousands of flight cancellations out of Newark last week.
Currently, there are 22 certified air traffic controllers and five fully certified supervisors based in Philadelphia, short of the 38 the FAA believes are needed for smooth operations out of Newark. Twenty-one controllers and supervisors are in training, and 10 of those controllers and supervisors are receiving on-the-job training.
The FAA said it has a 'healthy pipeline of controllers, with training classes filled through July 2026.'
The changes at Newark come after the agency met with multiple airlines last week to discuss reducing capacity at the airport, which is one of the busiest in the country. The airlines present at those meetings were American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air.
The FAA said representatives from those airlines met with the agency one-on-one 'to find a balance between reducing their operations at the airport and meeting the needs of each individual airline.'
What Happened at Newark
Multiple tech outages and staffing shortages led to a string of disruptions out of Newark. On April 28, air traffic controllers faced an outage that caused them to lose radar and communications with aircraft for 90 seconds.
The incident led multiple air traffic controllers to take time off under the Federal Compensation Act, which covers time off for employees who experience a traumatic incident on the job or are physically injured, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Air traffic controllers experienced two other outages after April 28.
United, which operates a major hub out of Newark, previously made the decision to cut 35 daily round-trip flights out of the airport.
It is unclear if Newark will be able to fix most of its operational issues before the flight caps are lifted.
Airlines Issue Travel Waivers
In response to the disruptions at Newark, some airlines started issuing travel waivers to customers.
United is offering customers a travel waiver for flights between May 6 and May 23, allowing customers to reschedule flights without paying change fees or fare differences. Delta is also offering a waiver to customers who are flying out of Newark between May 17 and June 15.
Airlines also endorsed the flight cuts at Newark.
'Reducing the number of flights scheduled at Newark will help ensure that we can safely and reliably operate the flights that remain on the schedule, which is why we proactively reduced our schedule earlier this month,' United said in a statement. 'For the first quarter of 2025, Newark was the most on-time airport in the New York area.'
Delta said it was 'committed to working with the FAA and our industry partners on a solution to address the air traffic control and runway construction challenges affecting Newark airport this summer.'
American, which currently does not have a travel alert for Newark, said it wanted Congress to fund efforts to fix air traffic control. The House Transportation Committee has proposed $12.5 billion in initial funding for air traffic control upgrades.
'We appreciate the FAA for leading a constructive conversation to improve operations in Newark and across the national airspace,' American said in a statement. 'During the discussion about Newark reductions, American committed to doing our part to support more efficient operations. We also discussed air traffic challenges in other places around the country which demonstrate the urgent need to staff up and modernize our air traffic control system.
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