Well, this doesn't bode well for the airline industry. A major airport was forced to delay or outright cancel hundreds of flights over both equipment issues as well as staff shortages.
It's safe to say that it has not been a good couple of days at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey. The incident started at the airport on Thursday and continued into Friday so far. The airport cited both air traffic control shortages as well as construction on one of the runways as well as issues with equipment.
On Friday, the airport delayed 114 flights and canceled 18, according to FlightAware. The site mentioned Newark is "currently experiencing inbound flights delayed at their origin an average of 1 hours 39 minutes." On Thursday, the airport canceled more than 200 flights and delayed 400 flights.
"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 X. "Please check your flight status with your airline before heading to the airport."
Newark blamed construction as the reason for the delays. But in a tweet, it mentioned repairs to the damaged runway wouldn't be complete for several months.
Airport Experiences Problems
It wrote, "One of our runways is closed for necessary repairs from now until mid-June 2025."
"We are working with our airline partners to minimize the impacts, but please check with your airline for updates as flight schedules may be affected," EWR also wrote.
At least the social media seems active. It later responded to one person, "Due to ongoing FAA staffing challenges, EWR is experiencing operational disruptions. Please check your flight status with your airline."
This comes after issues earlier this week. The FAA was forced to slow down airt traffic coming to and from the airport on Monday. In total, United Airlines had to divert 35 flights. The airline listed FAA equipment malfunction as the cause of the issue earlier in the week. Apparently, this was caused by the equipment failure at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control.
The FAA later said these issues were resolved. But apparently Newark encountered other obstacles leading to further issues. In particular, the shortage of staff appears to be a major contributing factor.
The FAA did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comments on staffing shortages and travel disruptions. The FAA says its about 3,500 short of its staffing goal.
