United Airlines passengers flying through Newark Liberty International Airport are being urged to consider switching to other airports amid ongoing delays and cancellations.
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As of 1:30 p.m. on Monday, 265 flights had been delayed and 151 were canceled for the day in Newark, one of the country‘s busiest airports, according to FlightAware.
United Airlines, Newark Airport’s largest carrier, advised customers to consider alternative airports in the area as air traffic controller shortages continue to disrupt operations.
Some United customers arriving at or departing from Newark on Monday said they received notifications warning that a combination of air traffic control staffing shortages and weather problems could disrupt flights on all airlines.
“We are offering customers the option to change their flight date or connection city without any extra charges, in line with our travel waiver policy,” said a United email to customers experiencing delays.
United Airlines officials said more information about changing flights and airports is available on their flight changes and flexible booking options web pages.
“We currently have a travel waiver that is active through today," a United spokesperson said Monday.
A tweet from United Airlines last week advised passengers to expect more cancellations due to FAA equipment malfunctions.
“We’ve issued a travel waiver for impacted flights to and from Newark. You can reschedule your trip — there are no fees to change your flight, and we’ll waive any fare difference," United said in the social media post last week.
However, some passengers have complained on social media that they were still asked to pay to change their flights out of Newark, despite the travel waiver. Others said they were unable to reach United for help or received little help at the airport.
Delays and cancellations have been mounting since last week, when United’s CEO told customers in a letter that ongoing air traffic control staffing issues are forcing the airline to cancel 35 roundtrip flights per day from its Newark schedule going forward.
That amounted to about 10% of United’s daily schedule at the airport, where it averages 328 flights a day.
“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,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement.
The airline also pointed to recent technology failures affecting the Federal Aviation Administration, including a telecommunications outage, that disrupted air traffic control systems.
The issues led to dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delays and cancellations and thousands of passengers facing disrupted travel plans, Kirby said.
Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the FAA-related issues over the weekend, condemning the ongoing delays at Newark as “completely and utterly unacceptable” and calling on federal officials to address staffing shortages within the agency.
Stories by Nyah Marshall
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