Newark Airport faces hundreds of flight delays, cancellations due to weather, staffing

More than 400 flights into and out of Newark Airport in New Jersey were delayed or cancelled Monday morning as the international transit hub continued to struggle with a shortage of air traffic controllers, as well as inclement weather, federal transportation officials said.

According to the air-traffic tracker FlightAware, more than 250 flights had been delayed and more than 150 had been cancelled by 12:30 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration said staffing issues, low clouds and construction were hindering traffic at the airport, resulting in average delays of about four hours for some arrivals. Officials recommended travelers check with their airlines to see if their flights were affected.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority, which oversees Newark, said the delays were expected to continue throughout Monday. Federal officials have put a “ground delay program” into effect until 3 p.m. to space out arrivals and hold some departures at origin airports, she said.

United Airlines was hit hardest, with at least 115 delays and 50 cancellations, according to FlightAware. The airline cancelled nearly three dozen daily round-trip flights at Newark over the weekend, after its CEO Scott Kirby sent a letter to customers Friday blaming the FAA’s longstanding staffing problems. He said 20% of air traffic controllers had walked off the job, creating a domino effect of diversions and delays.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy weighed in Saturday, saying the delays and cancellations at Newark were “completely and utterly unacceptable” — and calling on Trump’s secretary of transportation to fix the mess.

“I know @SecDuffy is committed to addressing our nationwide air traffic controller shortage by supercharging hiring,” Murphy tweeted. “The past few days have shown us exactly why we need to reverse the decades of staffing decline at the FAA.”

The agency has said it will implement a plan to address the shortage through recruitment and retention. The FAA is on track to hire at least 2,000 controllers this year, officials said.

LaGuardia Airport was also dealing with weather-related issues Monday, and some arriving flights there were delayed an hour and a half on average, according to the agency.

This story has been updated with additional information.