Hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled out of Newark Airport over the past few days.
The busy airport, that sits right outside New York City, has been hit with several problems happening all at once.
“It seems to be coming to a head this week because of a dramatic shortage of air traffic control workers. They’ve also decided to do construction on one of the runways. And then there’s been a lot of weather,” said Clint Henderson.
Henderson works for travel website, The Points Guy.
He says while the lack of air traffic controllers is a nationwide problem, it’s especially bad at Newark.
Airline analysts say this meltdown that’s happening at Newark Airport has been going on for quite some time now.
And, unfortunately for travelers, I’m told it might not end any time soon.
“This is an issue that has no short-term solution. They’re talking about training and investments in technology, but as you know those things take years to roll out,” Henderson said.
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Nearby at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), some passengers experienced the effects as well.
“We got a delay this morning and that they were pushing it back by seven hours. And then luckily they put us on another one. But it’s just kind of been a whole mess. We have a connection that we’re going to miss,” said Cole Lewis.
Lewis and Andrew Pettit were scheduled to depart from Newark for Hawaii on Tuesday morning.
They mention that starting from Monday, they received messages indicating their flight was expected to face disruptions.
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Following a full day spent at the airport, they eventually departed from the East Coast; however, they missed their connecting flight in the Bay Area.
“I mean, we have often traveled through various airports, but I’ve never experienced significant delays or anything out of the ordinary like that,” Lewis stated.
Given that the issues troubling Newark show no signs of abating, Henderson advises those heading to New York to carefully weigh all available choices.
“I’m advising individuals who feel anxious or are cautious about risks to avoid flying into Newark. This recommendation isn’t solely based on delays and cancellations, but also due to fundamental safety concerns,” he stated.
On Tuesday, more than 300 flights experienced delays when arriving at or departing from Newark Airport.
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