United: Air traffic controller shortage to blame for 'significant disruption' at Newark hub

United Airlines suggested Wednesday that an air traffic controller shortage is to blame for “significant delays” at its Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) hub, as people in the U.S. began their holiday travel.

The airline, in an email to The Hill, said the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “understaffing is causing significant disruption for our travelers at” Newark. It added that beginning earlier this month through Monday, more than “343,000 United travelers have been disrupted by delays, cancellations, long taxi times and longer flight times related to air traffic control delays for Newark.”

“The FAA needs more air traffic controllers. The FAA shortage has been especially acute at its [Terminal Radar Approach Control] center for Newark airspace, forcing it to reduce traffic flows to our Newark hub so that FAA can manage air traffic safely,” United wrote in an emailed statement.

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The company's response came as delays have upended a commonly busy travel week for Americans, with many flying out to see their friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday. The airline refers to Newark as their “New York-area hub.”

The FAA told The Hill in a statement that most “delays nationwide are caused by weather or airline operations.”

“Hiring more air traffic controllers is a top priority," the agency said. "Specifically in the Newark airspace, the FAA is addressing a decades-long issue of staffing and has been transparent with airlines and travelers about our plan."

In a post Tuesday on social platform X, Newark Airport said that because of “FAA issues, travelers may experience flight delays at EWR.”

“Check your flight status and allow extra time at the airport,” the airport added in the post.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighted the need for more air traffic controllers in an April interview, pointing to overworking.

“We need more, and we’re hiring more,” Buttigieg, whose office oversees the FAA, said at the time on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“If you look at just a chart over the last 30 years or so, the number of air traffic controllers has gone down and down and down, until recently where we finally got that number going up,” he added.

The Hill has reached out to the Port Authority of New York and the New Jersey Office of Media Relations for comment.