2LT International News

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said this week that it will require airlines to reduce the number of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the main airports serving New York City.

This decision follows meetings with U.S. airlines aimed at addressing severe congestion and delays.

Newark Airport, situated approximately nine miles from Manhattan, has recently faced several challenges, including malfunctioning equipment, runway construction, and insufficient staffing among air traffic controllers. These issues have caused significant delays—sometimes lasting five hours or more—and resulted in numerous canceled or late flights.

The FAA’s new rule doesn’t specify which specific flights will be cut, but it requires airlines to reduce their flight schedules by three to seven flights per hour at certain times, compared to the approved schedule last fall. The goal is to minimize delays and help passengers avoid long wait times.

The FAA said it may later allow more or fewer flights, depending on whether the airport can handle them without causing new delays.

United Airlines, which handles nearly 70 percent of Newark’s flights, has already reduced its operations and recently requested that the FAA impose stricter flight limits. United did not comment on the FAA’s decision.

The FAA stated that it conducted three days of one-on-one meetings with airlines, including United, Delta, American, JetBlue, and others, to determine the most effective way to reduce flights while accommodating each airline’s specific needs.

American Airlines said it’s doing its part to help operations run more smoothly, including improving staffing at some other airports. Delta said it’s also working to help solve the problems at Newark.

For now, the FAA is limiting both arrivals and departures at Newark to 28 planes per hour until runway construction ends on June 15. After that, the limit will rise to 34 planes per hour through October 25. On Saturdays, the 28-per-hour cap will stay in place through the end of the year due to continued construction.

Typically, Newark can handle approximately 77 flights per hour, but current conditions don’t permit this.

The FAA also stated that air traffic control for Newark was relocated to Philadelphia last year to alleviate pressure on the New York area. But the system has still faced tech problems and not enough staff. Nationwide, the FAA is short about 3,500 air traffic controllers. At Newark’s control area, there are only 24 certified controllers, even though the target is 38.