Overview

• The FAA has capped flights at Newark Liberty International Airport to 28 arrivals and departures per hour until June 15, increasing to 34 per hour outside construction periods through October 25.
• Recent radar and communications outages, including four incidents since late April, have raised safety concerns and exacerbated delays and cancellations.
• Chronic understaffing at the Philadelphia TRACON facility, which oversees Newark’s airspace, has left it operating at 63% of its target workforce, with some controllers on trauma leave.
• Ongoing runway construction, scheduled to continue daily through mid-June and on Saturdays through year-end, has further reduced Newark’s operational capacity.
• The FAA is implementing staffing increases and fiber-optic upgrades to address systemic issues, though full modernization may take years to complete.