United blames FAA staffing shortage for ‘significant disruption’ at Newark airport

United Airlines said Tuesday that an acute shortage of air traffic controllers was causing “significant disruption” to travelers at its busy hub in Newark, N.J., outside New York City.

The airline said the Federal Aviation Administration has been forced to reduce traffic flows at Newark’s hub due to understaffing on 12 of the first 25 days in November, disrupting more than 343,000 United travelers by delays, cancellations, times the length of taxis and the duration of connecting flights. for air traffic control delays for Newark.

United said that in November. 15 alone, air traffic control staff issues resulted in flight cancellations that disrupted 1,880 customers; gate and other delays cut off an additional 24,558.

The FAA said in “the Newark airspace, the FAA is addressing a decades-long staffing issue and has been transparent with airlines and travelers about our plan.”

United’s comments come as a record Thanksgiving holiday travel season gets under way.

“That’s why it remains imperative that the FAA rebuild staffing levels so travelers can depend on safe and efficient air travel,” United said.

Over the past two years, a series of near-miss incidents have raised concerns about US aviation security and strained understaffed air traffic control operations. The FAA said last month it was launching an audit of runway incursion hazards at the 45 busiest US airports after a series of near-miss incidents.

The FAA requested that 17 air traffic controllers move from the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), known as N90, to Philadelphia in late July. New York TRACON is one of the busiest facilities in the US.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told reporters last week that the move allowed the agency to “relieve stress in New York and improve controller staffing levels by recruiting and training controllers in Philadelphia.” Whitaker added that delays were reduced with the airspace transfer.

In recent years, the FAA has been forced to regularly assign controllers six-day work weeks and slow air traffic in the New York area.

The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing goals, and the agency said last year it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as the year before.

The FAA in June extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York area airports until October 2025, saying the number of controllers handling traffic in New York was insufficient for normal traffic levels.