Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest airports, has been struggling with major delays and cancellations amid technological disruptions, staffing shortages and a runway closure.
Communication problems, including a brief radar outage at the air traffic control facility on Friday and an outage last month, have left travelers wondering how safe it is to fly into Newark. Concerns have also mounted after two high-profile commercial plane crashes involving U.S. airlines earlier this year.
A recent poll commissioned by The Points Guy and conducted by the Harris Poll showed that 65 percent of Americans said they are more nervous about flying because of recent incidents.
Here’s what to know about flying in or out of Newark.
What’s behind the delays?
In short: a confluence of factors, including a runway closure, changes to the airport’s air-traffic-control operations, staffing shortages and equipment failures.
Sheldon H. Jacobson, a travel security and safety expert, called the disruptions “a perfect storm.” The national airspace system has long relied on aging infrastructure, he explained, and while airport facilities have been updated frequently, the air traffic control systems have not kept pace.
As travel demand surges, with more than 2 million people screened by the Transportation Security Administration per day in the United States, he said, this outdated infrastructure is struggling to keep up.
