The troubles at Newark Liberty International Airport are creating some real challenges for travelers relying on this New Jersey hub, yet there might be a straightforward solution.
Essentially, the airport just isn’t large enough to manage the overwhelming volume of operations. Authorities need to consider reducing the daily flights at this struggling airport quickly, according to Kyle Bailey, who used to be part of the Federal Aviation Authority Safety Team.
However, he cautioned that any short-term relief wouldn’t directly address the issues on the runway, which remains closed until mid-June. Additionally, airports are grappling with a significant lack of air traffic controllers, which has hit United Airlines particularly hard.
“I’m not seeing any immediate solutions that could improve the situation,” Bailey remarked.
He suggested they might have to cut back on flights permanently, using larger aircraft to do so.
“There’s no simple fix to this,” he added.
Newark Airport served almost 50 million passengers last year but has recently experienced a spike in cancellations and delays, largely due to a recent loss of air traffic controllers.
United Airlines, which operates its main East Coast hub there, announced plans to eliminate 35 round-trip flights daily “to protect customers.”
The airline also mentioned issues with air traffic control combined with poor weather as reasons for disruptions, offering customers the option to change flights without any fees.
At least five air traffic controllers at Newark have recently taken 45 days of “trauma leave,” as reported by CNN.
On Monday alone, there were around 153 cancellations and 329 delays at the airport, according to FlightAware, though some of these might be attributed to rainy weather.
Bailey described Newark as a “true international airport,” but remarked that its size is more akin to that of a large domestic airport.
“I don’t think it was really designed to accommodate such a high volume of flights when it was built,” he noted.
Newark spans about 2,000 acres, whereas John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens is more than double that size.
Colonel Ross “Rusty” Aimer, another aviation expert, commented that Newark wasn’t constructed to handle the new, larger passenger jets that emerged decades later.
“The runway design back then wasn’t ideal for accommodating a constant stream of jumbo jets,” explained Aimer, a retired United pilot now running Aero Consulting.
He emphasized that concerns about Newark are justified.
“As a pilot, you certainly feel the pressure since your situational awareness has to ramp up significantly, particularly when the systems aren’t functioning efficiently, which raises the stakes,” Aimer said.
Both Bailey and Aimer highlighted the immediate need for solutions, suggesting that reducing flights could serve as a temporary measure.
“We aren’t even into the summer travel season yet, but these issues are already surfacing,” he pointed out.
Aimer stressed the urgency for hiring and training efforts to begin right away and pointed out the need for better pay to attract talent, considering the job’s high-stress nature.
Despite the chaos at Newark, Bailey maintained that safety isn’t currently in jeopardy.
“It’s a major inconvenience,” he remarked. “If you need to travel from one point to another, relying on Newark isn’t a reliable option right now.”
