Newark Airport dealing with delays as FAA limits flights due to equipment issues
Newark Liberty International Airport is under a ground delay Thursday afternoon, as travelers gear up for a busy Labor Day holiday weekend.
A full ground stop at the New Jersey airport was ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration at around noon before it was lifted about an hour later.
"The FAA cancelled the ground stop and is now slowing flights into Newark Liberty International Airport due to equipment issues that affected some radio frequencies in the Philadelphia TRACON area that handles Newark arrivals and departures," a spokesperson for the FAA said in a statement. "We are investigating the cause."
Departures and arrivals appear to be delayed by up to 90 minutes.
FAA is limiting flights to Newark Airport
The airport has been limiting its flight totals due to air traffic control staffing and equipment issues from earlier in the summer. The FAA suggested earlier this month that the slowdown should remain in effect until October 2026.
Hundreds of flights had to be canceled or delayed at the start of the summer, in part due to runway construction and equipment issues that caused air traffic controllers to briefly lose communication on multiple occasions.
In June, the FAA limited the number of flights into Newark to a total of 68 per hour. FAA records show the airport can typically handle more than 70 flights per hour, weather permitting.
The impacted runway has since reopened, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said he is working to improve equipment and conditions, while also trying to train more air traffic controllers.
At this point, there's no word on how long Thursday's ground delay will last. Friday and Monday are expected to be the busiest days of the holiday weekend. Travelers should check with their airlines for individual flight updates.
Passengers describe circling Newark Airport
Florida resident Danny Alvare and his family were in the air and getting ready to land as the ground stop went into effect Thursday.
"It was kind of unnerving being up there, not knowing when we were going to land and what was going on," Alvare said. "They told us there was some kind of frequency issue with the airport and we just kept circling and circling probably for about an hour."
Other passengers traveling right before the busy holiday weekend said they were nervous, as well.
"We're in the plane and they told us we needed to keep circling for like 30 ... 20 minutes, and if they couldn't figure anything out we had to fly to Allentown and wait there," said Reagan Bowles of Destin, Florida.
"We heard of some stories a few months ago and I wasn't aware it was still happening. [Traveling] was our only option to get here at the time we wanted to land," added Justin Millette of Canada.