Flights reduced at Newark Airport amid outages and air traffic controller shortage

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday that it required Newark Liberty International Airport to immediately decrease its number of incoming and outgoing planes by 25%.

The news comes on the heels of continued issues caused by air traffic control center outages, staff shortages, and ongoing construction.

“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 Christopher Rocheleau said in a statement.

Here are six things to know about the issues at Newark.

Delays, which started ramping up last month, were sparked by a combination of long-standing staff shortages and technical issues.

A nationwide air traffic controller shortage appears to be hitting the busy Newark Airport extra hard.

There’s also been a series of outages and radio frequency blackouts since late April, where controllers say they’re unable to see or speak to aircraft heading toward the airport. The blackouts have led to several near misses and close calls, CNN reports.

According to the New York Post, a blackout on April 28 for air traffic controllers overseeing Newark led to many workers taking trauma leave, exacerbating its staff shortage.

In addition, a Newark Airport runway is closed for “rehabilitation work” leaving the airport with only one functioning runway.

The issues at Newark have caused some ripple effects at other major airports nationwide, but the acute issues seem to be mainly affecting the New York and New Jersey regions. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t outages elsewhere.

A new review by CNN found there have been more than 40 reports of radar and radio problems at dozens of airports nationwide since 2022, suggesting issues span further than Newark. CNN also reported that the FAA published at least one air traffic advisory about radar, radio, or frequency issues nearly every other day last year.

Last week, controllers in Denver experienced a 90-second communications loss while planes were in the airspace.

While the Philadelphia airport hasn’t experienced delays as significant as Newark’s, the FAA says Philly’s traffic control center shares some blame for Newark’s delays.

The outages have affected the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control center — known as TRACON — which manages air traffic control in Newark Liberty’s surrounding airspace.

As of Wednesday the airport has experienced four outages since April with the most recent taking place Monday.

The fourth outage lasted about two seconds and didn’t interfere with operations, according to the FAA. Like the others, the outage impacted the Philadelphia control center.

“Operations are normal after Philadelphia TRACON Area C lost radio frequencies for approximately two seconds around 11:35 a.m.,” an FAA spokesperson said. “All aircraft remained safely separated.”

The FAA said the outages continue to be under investigation.

The new FAA order will let 56 planes take off and land every hour in Newark as runway work continues. Renovations are scheduled to run daily through June 15 and then on Saturdays through the rest of 2025.

When construction isn’t happening, the number of planes allowed to arrive and depart will increase to 68 until Oct. 25.

The FAA’s initial target number was 77 planes per hour, but that number has decreased since construction began on April 15.

The FAA says it is continuing to investigate the outages and is limiting the number of flights at Newark to keep things sustainable.

A spokesperson told CNN the flight reductions are to help compensate for the outdated systems that are causing issues. It also announced a new emergency safety task force that will oversee system and safety upgrades.

Still, airspace professionals are voicing concern and say that without major technology upgrades and staff increases, problems will continue.

Acting FAA Administrator Rocheleau said in a news conference Monday that traveling in and out of Newark remains safe.

United Airlines, which has a major hub in the Newark Airport, has encouraged customers to consider alternate airports and to have flexibility with their plans, citing the flight delays and cancellations. The airline also announced earlier this month that it was expanding its travel waivers and free flight change options for those impacted by Newark issues.

As of Wednesday, at least 135 Newark flights (across all airlines) have been delayed and nine have been canceled, according to FlightAware.

Travel experts say people with upcoming flights through Newark may want to consider their alternate plans in case of disruptions. Booking flights earlier in the day, for example, can help avoid ripple effects caused by other delays and cancellations. Exploring flight options at nearby regional airports or alternate transportation methods, such as trains, might also help.