A car was seen cruising past the control tower at Terminal B of Newark Liberty Airport in Newark, New Jersey on May 7, 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Friday its intention to propose temporary flight reductions at Newark Airport after engaging in discussions with major U.S. airlines to tackle the congestion issues.
The FAA had a series of one-on-one meetings with airlines over three days to strike a balance between cutting down their operations at the airport and meeting the unique needs of each airline. A final decision on the arrival rates, set to be determined on or after May 28, will cap the maximum arrival rate at Newark Liberty International Airport at 28 aircraft per hour until the runway construction wraps up by June 15, excluding Saturdays until the year-end. Amidst a flurry of equipment malfunctions, runway construction, and staffing problems, the FAA sought concessions from individual air carriers to trim flights at specific times.
The agency pointed out that the airport is currently overwhelmed by its scheduled operations and the proposal to reduce overscheduling, flight delays, and cancellations to an acceptable level. Aside from the construction phase, the maximum arrival rate would be limited to 34 aircraft an hour until October 25. Notably, the airlines involved in the meetings included United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Allegiant Air. United Airlines, which has significantly slashed flights at its Newark hub, advocated for new flight restrictions at the airport to address persistent delays. The FAA had transferred control of Newark’s airspace to Philadelphia last year to tackle staffing shortages and congested New York City-area air traffic. The agency, currently below targeted air traffic controller staffing levels nationwide, reported that some controllers overseeing Newark had taken stress leave following the April 28 outage. With a targeted staffing level of 38 certified controllers for the Newark area, only 24 are currently in place.
