Expect delays at Newark Liberty during Thanksgiving travel with air traffic staff shortage

Hundreds of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed last weekend, offering a glimpse of what’s to come during the busy Thanksgiving travel period.

More than 400 flights in and out of Newark Liberty were delayed on Saturday, according to FlightAware. Another 325 flights were delayed on Sunday.

Most delays lasted nearly an hour, according to a recent notice from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The delays are being caused by a perfect storm of factors, but chief among them is a shortage of certified air traffic controllers staffing the airport.

“Staffing shortages at Air Traffic Control meant long delays for several days this week,” Clint Henderson, managing editor of the travel publication The Points Guy, said on Tuesday. “The Northeast airspace is super crowded and the ATC employees can be overwhelmed with the number of flights, especially when they don’t have enough workers.”

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There were 32 air traffic controllers at the Newark tower who handle takeoffs and landings, an FAA spokesperson said. For 2024, the goal was 37, the FAA reported.

“The FAA considers this an efficient number of controllers,” an agency spokesperson said. The FAA pointed to its workforce of more than 14,000 air traffic controllers, including 1,800 hired so far in 2024 with plans to hire another 2,000 in the next year.

There are, in addition, 24 air traffic controllers based in Philadelphia handling high-altitude air traffic over Newark Airport, plus another 16 currently being trained.

Sunday expected to be busiest at airports

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns Newark Airport, estimates 3.2 million Thanksgiving holiday air travelers across its four airports between Nov. 27 and Dec. 2, with this coming Sunday expected to be the busiest day at the airports.

“It’s going to come down to what the weather’s going to be in the days in advance and following Thanksgiving,” said Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive officer who is president of independent airline consultancy R. W. Mann and Co.

In March, the FAA said it was relocating control of Newark airspace to Philadelphia in a bid to address staffing issues and the strain on New York City’s team, as well as air traffic congestion in the New York City area.

But the relocation to Philadelphia did not have the desired result, Mann said, with the continuation of delays and ground stops stemming from staffing shortages, equipment failures and infrastructure overloads.

United, which has a hub at Newark, critical of FAA performance

United Airlines has a hub at Newark Airport, which often faces significant delays because of congestion and air traffic staffing issues. The carrier reduced flights last summer after flight disruptions and CEO Scott Kirby sharply criticized the FAA performance, adding that "Newark has more flights scheduled than the physical infrastructure can handle."

United deferred comment for this story to the FAA, while the Port Authority declined to comment.

William McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told NorthJersey.com last year that many of Newark Liberty's problems come from United Airlines' own issues in crew scheduling and its poor response to staff shortages and thunderstorms.

"It's clear United is having issues that no other airline is having, so you really can't blame the weather or the air traffic control for that, because that is on United," McGee said.

McGee said other airlines did face some delays and cancellations due to outside factors, staff shortages and thunderstorms, but not to the degree of United. Three of the four nationwide airports with major delays are United hubs, according to flight tracker FlightStats.

How to prepare for and deal with flight delays

Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue and United airlines will let you rebook in the event of extended delays, NerdWallet reported.

However, Allegiant Air, Frontier, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest and Spirit airlines “don’t commit to rebooking you on another flight,” NerdWallet said. “Instead you’ll need to wait until the next flight on that airline.”

Many airlines commit to providing meals during delays of at least three hours, NerdWallet continued, and hotels in the event of overnight delays.

The U.S Department of Transportation runs an overview of your rights in the event of a delay or cancellation.

The USDOT defines “significant delays” as those lasting at least three hours for domestic flights or six hours for international flights, and the agency requires airlines to refund passengers in the same way as cancellations if the person chooses not to travel on the delayed flight or take an alternative itinerary from the airline.

And the agency also added coverage for "significantly changed" flights, which includes "departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability."

This article contains material from USA Today and Reuters

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record. 

Email: [email protected]; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Expect delays at Newark Liberty during Thanksgiving travel