United Airlines cutting 35 flights per day from Newark Airport as problems persist

Delays persisted Saturday at Newark Liberty International Airport.

There were at least 377 delays and 82 cancellations throughout the day, according to FlightAware. This comes a day after United Airlines announced it’d be cutting 35 flights per day from Newark due to persistent equipment and staffing issues.

“It’s now clear – and the FAA tells us – that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” United CEO Scott Kirby said. “It’s disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers.”

“That’s a short term fix,” former NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said. “You can’t get controllers into the pipeline quick enough.”

Some arriving flights were delayed Saturday afternoon by more than three hours, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Departures were delayed up to 45 minutes.

An FAA spokesperson blamed the problems on equipment issues, runway construction and staffing shortages in Philadelphia, where the traffic control center overseeing Newark’s airspace is located.

Airlines have been working with passengers to reschedule or refund tickets, but questions are starting to emerge about whether Newark will be able to handle the high volume of flights this summer.

“As a passenger it is frustrating”

There have been over 800 delays and 150 cancellations at Newark since Tuesday, authorities said.

Late this week, 20% of air traffic controllers in Philadelphia walked off the job, frustrated with equipment outages and staffing shortages, a source familiar with the situation told CBS News. The Philly air traffic control center oversees the airspace in Newark.

On Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled plans to revamp the decades-old air traffic control system, saying details will be revealed this coming week. 

“I’m coming out with a plan that’s gonna build a brand new air traffic control system, state of the art, gold plated, envy of the world, touching every phase of the systems that air traffic controllers use. We’re gonna lay fiber, we’re gonna get new radar, new radios, new ground sensors,” Duffy said.

The project is expected to take three to four years.

In the meanwhile, travelers at Newark Airport are annoyed. 

“As a passenger, it is frustrating when you are hoping for a seamless and smooth day,” Lisa Tarter said. 

“Supposedly my sister-in-law waited on the tarmac for about three and a half hours yesterday,” said Michael Harbert.

“I took Spirit here, but I think I might have a United flight on the way back and I hope it’s not canceled,” another traveler said.

“We had to wait two hours in Los Angeles to even board the plane, and they weren’t sure even then when they told us two hours. It was horrible,” one woman said.

Flights were delayed by as much as five hours Thursday, as the tarmac became packed with lines of planes waiting to depart. The FAA issued a full ground stop at one point, which slowed traffic in and out of the airport.

The delays have ripple effect on airports in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Dallas and other cities, according to the flight tracking company FlightAware, which maintains a “misery map” showing how other areas are impacted.