The FAA has announced a significant reduction in flight operations at Newark Liberty International Airport, a move set to last for several months as officials address ongoing issues such as equipment outages, runway construction and air traffic control staffing at New Jersey’s largest airport.
FAA’s interim order will reduce the number of arrivals and departures to 28 per hour each during weekday construction periods through June 15 and on Saturdays for the rest of the year. Outside those windows, the cap arrival and departure rates will be raised to 34 flights per hour until Oct. 25.
“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,” said Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau in a media statement.
The new limits took effect yesterday, May 20. The FAA discussed the plan with airlines during last week’s 3-day delay-reduction meetings. The meetings included Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.
The FAA added, it “may change the targeted limits if it determines capacity exists to accommodate more flights without a significant increase in delays, or that further flight reductions are necessary.”
One its action list, the FAA says it’s working to “increase controller staffing.” Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which directs aircraft in and out of Newark, has 22 fully certified controllers, five fully certified supervisors and 21 controllers and supervisors in training. “Ten of those 21 controllers and supervisors are receiving on-the-job training,” says the FAA. “All 10 are certified on at least one position in Area C and three are certified on multiple positions. This means they can work those positions without supervision from an instructor. We have a healthy pipeline of controllers, with training classes filled through July 2026.”
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