The FAA stopped flights from taking off for Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday night because there weren't enough air traffic controllers to handle them, causing delays at one of the country's busiest airports. The ground stop began at 6:52 p.m. Eastern and was scheduled to run until 8:30 p.m., according to the FAA's airport status page, which listed the reason simply as "staffing."
It came on the same day the Transportation Department and the controllers' union reached a deal for a 2.8% raise that had been on hold since April, a raise that doesn't add a single controller to the shortage behind tonight's delays.
Breaking · Newark
Newark Flights Halted Over Staffing
Contrail
What's Happening at Newark
A ground stop means flights headed to Newark aren't allowed to take off from their departure airports until the FAA lifts it. Planes already in the air can still land, though some are being sent elsewhere. The flight-tracking app Flighty reported that many flights were diverting away from Newark.
On top of the ground stop, the FAA had a separate delay program in place for Newark arrivals from 5 p.m. Friday until just before 1 a.m. Saturday, with an average delay of 72 minutes. Departures from Newark were also running about 75 minutes late on average as of 8 p.m., and the FAA said those delays were increasing.
Why Controller Shortages Hit Newark So Hard
When a facility doesn't have enough controllers, the FAA reduces how many planes it lets in so the people on duty aren't overloaded. At a busy airport like Newark, even a short cut ripples out into hours of delays and missed connections across the country.
Newark has been a pressure point before. Last year, equipment outages and staffing shortages at the facility that handles its flights led the FAA to limit how many flights could use the airport. Nationwide, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the US is roughly 3,000 controllers short, and training a new one takes years, which is why Friday's raise won't make nights like this one disappear anytime soon.
What to Do if You're Flying Tonight
- Check your flight status in your airline's app before heading to the airport. Ground stops can be extended or lifted early.
- Look at the FAA's airport status page at nasstatus.faa.gov for the latest on Newark.
- If your flight is delayed or canceled, your airline will usually rebook you for free. If you're flying United, Newark's biggest airline, its app is the fastest way to switch flights.
- Consider JFK or LaGuardia if you're flexible, though delays at one New York airport often spread to the others.
