United Airlines is slashing more than thirty daily flights from Newark Airport, due to a combination of FAA staffing shortages and one of the airport’s three runways out of service for repaving.
Newark is a main hub for United, so it is utter chaos, with some passengers stranded by cancelled flights and others delayed for up to six or more hours, missing baggage and more.
Simply – if you are booking a flight into or out of NYC, avoid Newark for JFK or LaGuardia until the dust, uncertainty, frustration and anger settle – and that’s on all sides – passengers, United, flight controllers and the spill out to baggage handlers and even the airport restaurants and their staffs.
Simply – if your booked flight is into or out of EWR, prepare for delays and cancellations.
United is waiving change fees for impacted routes and is working to rebook travelers at no extra cost—but wait times on customer service lines remain long.
Add to that the additional chaos and delays to pass TSA security starting on May 7, when travelers are required to have a Real ID to board a plane.
Why United Cancelled 30 Daily Flights
It’s a one-two punch.
One –
Newark Airport is fixing one of its three runways. So one-third of arrival/departure capacity is out of commission, forcing delays.
Why the Port of NY Authority decided to do this now, at the start of the peak summer travel season, is unknown.
- ecoXplorer Note –
- United routed me to a ski trip in March to Mammoth, California, via LaGuardia and Denver, and all went well. However, my return trip, also via Denver, was to Newark. Departure from Denver was delayed more than one hour and several gate changes because of the departure change, and I arrived at EWR nearly two hours late, including circling EWR for 20-ish minutes before landing.
- So this EWR capacity problem did not start in May – it affected me already in March.
Two –
Newark’s airspace is among the busiest and most complex in the world, coordinating with immediate neighbors JFK and LaGuardia, as well as with Philadelphia and Boston.
So this is also a response to the growing staffing emergency within the ranks of the FAA’s air traffic control system, including moving Newark’s air control to Philadelphia, angering Newark’s air traffic controllers, several of whom simply walked off the job.
Despite warnings from airlines and industry groups, the FAA has struggled to fill critical positions amid retirements, hiring delays, and burnout.
In announcing the flight cancellations, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby issued a statement about the delays, saying the airport’s issues seem to be a combination of technology failures and “over 20% of the FAA controllers for EWR (Newark Liberty International Airport) walked off the job.”
These shortages are not isolated. According to industry analysts, air traffic control centers in New York, Miami, and Jacksonville are also operating well below optimal capacity, raising red flags ahead of the summer travel surge.
How to Get To and From EWR
Passengers Losing Confidence
Social media erupted with complaints, to share stories of missed weddings, lost vacations, and rebooking nightmares.
There’s a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
There have been several crashes since January, when the Trump Administration and its DOGE group began slashing budgets and personnel at crucial federal agencies, including the FAA.
That may not have affected crashes such as the recent one at Washington’s Reagan Airport which killed more than three dozen passengers, and aborted take-offs and landings since then.
These are United’s Cancelled Routes
While United has not released a full list of canceled routes, sources indicate that the cuts primarily affect short-haul and high-frequency routes, including:
- Newark to Washington D.C. (DCA)
- Newark to Boston (BOS)
- Newark to Buffalo (BUF)
- Newark to Cleveland (CLE)
- Newark to Richmond (RIC)
Some longer domestic routes with lower load factors are also expected to be suspended temporarily.
How to Protect Yourself
For travelers flying through Newark or any other US airport –
- Download the airline’s app for real-time updates about delays or cancellations
- Provide your mobile number on your ticket registration for real-time updates
- Book early morning flights to avoid cascading delays
- Consider alternate airports, such as LaGuardia or JFK, Stewart or Albany
- Avoid tight layovers through any airport
- Ask for hotel, food, or mileage compensation if your flight is canceled or delayed more than two hours
- Never leave home without travel insurance that protects you from delayed or cancelled flights, missing baggage and more.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 25+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as Immediate Past President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA).
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter also is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA) and the North American Snowsports Journalists Assn. (NASJA).
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
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