Newark, New Jersey’s airport is in a chaotic state. During my time working in New Jersey, I found Newark Liberty International Airport to be the most dysfunctional airport I had encountered in my decade of traveling around the world as a business consultant. There were issues like broken escalators, non-functional elevators, and overall poor cleanliness. Despite United’s concourse being renovated and attractive, the rest of the airport was subpar.
Now, an air-traffic controller is warning travelers to avoid Newark.
Newark Liberty International Airport is “not safe” for travelers, one air traffic controller at the delay-plagued travel hub reportedly warned.
According to a federal air safety employee who spoke with NBC News correspondent Tom Costello, the current state of Newark airport is deemed unsafe for the general public. The employee went as far as to recommend avoiding Newark altogether, highlighting the serious safety concerns present.
Costello shared the employee’s alarming remarks on MSNBC, recalling the stark warning to forgo flying into Newark and advising to steer clear of the airport completely. The gravity of the employee’s message underscored the safety risks that the airport posed to travelers.
The airport, which served 49 million travelers in 2024 and is the second busiest in the New York City area, has been drowning in delays and cancellations for days.
It’s an incredible statement indeed. A major airport in the United States of America, deemed unsafe by an air traffic controller who works there.
Newark Liberty seems to be shedding air traffic controllers.
Newark has lost 20% of its air controllers in recent weeks, according to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, who issued a statement Friday claiming they had “walked off the job.”
The situation has grown so dire that United Airlines — which uses the airport as its primary East Coast hub — announced it was cancelling 35 roundtrip flights daily, saying it was necessary “in order to protect our customers.”
“This particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, 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,” Kirby said.
This raises the question: How many other airports are in the same situation?
