As of Friday May 2, Newark Airport continues to battle with rampant flight delays due to a combination of staffing shortages, equipment issues, runway construction, and wind conditions.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in Friday alert that arriving flights are being delayed an average of 90 minutes, noting that departing flight schedules are also affected. Inbound flights to Newark Airport are being delayed at their origin an average of 1 hours 32 minutes, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
“You may experience delays and cancellations at @EWRairport due to a combination of @FAA staffing shortages, @FAA equipment issues, and wind conditions,” EWR posted on May 1 on X. “Please check your flight status with your airline before heading to the airport.”
United Airlines is dealing with the bulk of the flight delays. The Chicago-based carrier has issued a flight waiver for trips between May 1 and May 3 for impacted passengers: “You can reschedule your trip and we’ll waive change fees and fare differences,” the airline website said in a travel alert. “But, your new flight must be a United flight departing between April 30, 2025 and May 8, 2025. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked.”
The chaos at Newark Airport began earlier this week when the FAA began slowing arrivals and departures due to telecommunications and equipment issues at Philadelphia TRACON, the air traffic control tower that guides aircraft in and out of Newark Airport. “Both have been resolved, but now there are staffing issues at Philadelphia TRACON,” the FAA said in a statement on Monday.
This week’s issues at Newark Airport are the consequences of a nationwide problem. The FAA is currently short 3,000 air traffic controllers across the US and is dealing with outdated air traffic control technology. When those two problems combine with localized challenges like poor weather conditions and airport construction, it creates a perfect storm—and an imperfect travel day.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a press conference on Thursday to outline the agency’s plan to boost hiring by increasing controller pay and offering incentives against early retirement. “We’re hoping in 3-4 years we can get to full staffing, not 20 years,” he said. “How do you make up the gap? We can’t snap our fingers to make up the numbers.”
The combination of issues at Newark Airport has prompted concerns that the air travel hub located just outside of New York City—one of the busiest in the US—could continue to see disruptions as the peak summer travel season approaches. The Department of Transportation now requires airlines to provide automatic refunds to passengers if their flight is canceled or significantly changed. Here’s a breakdown of the new DOT rules and how to receive flight delay compensation.
This is a developing news story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
