The FAA has proposed to continue capping flights at Newark Airport through October 2026, raising the cap slightly to a combined 72 arrivals and departures per hour.
Since this past June, operations in Newark have been capped at 68 arrivals and departures her hour, down from 80-plus during the early part of the year. The FAA put the cap in place after a chaotic mid-spring, when air traffic control staffing shortages, technology outages and runway construction caused rampant flight delays, cancellations and FAA-ordered ground delays.
The cap of 68 arrivals and departures is scheduled to expire on June 25, 2026. (A separate cap of 56 total movements per hour will be in effect on Saturdays from Sept. 1 through the end of this year due to weekend resumptions of construction on one of the airport's three runways.)
The FAA said the extension through October 2026 is necessary because it anticipates lingering staffing shortages at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) tower that manages Newark arrivals. The facility is only 48% staffed and its staffing pipeline has not materially changed since June, the FAA said.
In its proposal, the FAA said it has made progress toward resolving the technology issues that caused radar and radio malfunction this past spring. In recent months, the FAA has laid a new fiber-optic network between the New York TRACON that used to manage Newark traffic and the Philadelphia TRACON. The agency has also deployed a temporary back-up satellite system for the Philadelphia TRACON.
United, the dominant airline in Newark, praised the latest FAA proposal.
"This is vital to ensure that Newark remains a safe and reliable crown jewel for millions of domestic and international travelers," CEO Scott Kirby said. He said United's Newark operation has been more reliable than ever since the FAA implemented the flight cap.
The FAA is accepting public comment on the proposal through Friday.