United cuts Newark schedule after hundreds of flight disruptions

United Airlines will cancel 35 roundtrip flights a day from its schedule at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after thousands of passengers faced hourslong delays this week, CEO Scott Kirby said Friday, blaming the disruptions on air traffic controller staffing shortages and the Federal Aviation Administration’s technology problems.

The flight cuts amount to about 10% of United’s daily schedule at its Newark hub.

More than 300 flights in and out of Newark were delayed as of Friday afternoon, adding to more than 1,400 other delays and cancellations earlier this week, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

“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,” Kirby said in a note to customers on Friday.

The schedule cuts will begin this weekend.

Kirby said that 20% of air traffic controllers for Newark “walked off the job” in recent days after several technology failures.

“Keep in mind, 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,” he said.

The FAA said in an advisory that staffing issues were delaying operations at Newark on Friday.

Kirby said the airline is now urging the agency to more tightly control capacity at the airport by establishing flight restrictions like those in place at other highly congested facilities like New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The FAA and the Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The air traffic controllers’ union declined to comment.

Last year, the FAA moved air traffic controllers responsible for airspace around Newark to Philadelphia instead of a facility in New York in an effort to help alleviate congestion.

Kirby said he spoke with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday and praised the Trump administration for vowing to invest and fix aging air traffic control infrastructure in the U.S.

United said Thursday that FAA technology outages, runway construction and high winds led to the disruptions, which forced it to divert at least 21 flights.

Newark is one of the most congested airports in the country, and Kirby has repeatedly complained about shortfalls of air traffic controllers. United has also trimmed its Newark schedule in recent years because of excessive delays, blaming similar factors.

The Transportation Department on Thursday offered a new slate of incentives to help alleviate staffing shortages of air traffic controllers, a problem that has persisted for years and worsened during training pauses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

United Airlines said it would waive change fees or fare differences for customers affected by the Newark disruptions.