What To Know About The Newark Airport Cancellations

Newark Liberty International Airport is a major New York City hub with nonstop flights to the Caribbean and the rest of the Americas, as well as Europe, Asia, and Africa. But it's also got a bit of a reputation: Newark gets a lot of TSA complaints and has made the list of America's worst-rated airports. And things seem to be going from bad to worse.

From the end of April and through the first week of May, hundreds of flights have been canceled and delayed at Newark, impacting thousands of travelers. Even worse, the flight disruptions are still ongoing, so those flying to the East Coast might want to avoid the airport if at all possible. If you do have to fly into or out of Newark, make sure to check the status of your flight before leaving to catch your plane.

The incident that kicked off all the cancellations occurred on the afternoon of April 28, 2025, when air traffic controllers were unable to see planes on their radar for a brief period. Some reports have the outage as lasting just 30 seconds, while others say it lasted closer to a minute and a half. The outage, which was reportedly caused by faulty copper wiring, also left the controllers unable to speak to pilots for a minute, a disruption that could have had serious consequences.

The April 28 outage of Newark Liberty International Airport's air traffic control systems spurred a number of air traffic controllers to take trauma leave. Colin Scoggins, a former air traffic controller, explained to CNN just how stressful the experience likely was: "If you cannot talk to a pilot, then you're really in trouble. ... And when you're a controller, you want to be in control. When you take that away, it can be very traumatic." It's understandable why controllers working at Newark at the time felt they needed to take a break after that.

Air traffic control locations across the U.S. have struggled with staffing issues in recent years, and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy claims that the department is working to hire and train more air traffic controllers. Duffy has also said that the country's air traffic control technology needs to be updated. On May 2, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby issued a statement on United.com, saying, in part, that "we are unilaterally cancelling 35 roundtrip flights per day from our Newark schedule." He also noted that United had long had concerns with the airport with regard to technology and staffing.

Adding to the delay and cancellation situation at Newark is the fact that one of the airport's runways is closed for scheduled construction from April through June 2025. Additionally, the AirTrain is set to be on a reduced overnight schedule from May 7 to May 10 and shut down completely for 12 hours starting at 8 p.m. on May 17. So those who can't avoid traveling through Newark soon, prepare to be patient.