Travelers to Newark Liberty International Airport were hit with over three-hour flight delays Thursday due to the historic government shutdown — while other major New York City airports are slated to feel the pain of steep flight cuts in less than 24 hours.
Passengers with flights arriving at the New Jersey transit hub Thursday evening faced average delays of roughly three and a half hours due to air traffic staffing shortages, according to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory.
Newark International Airport is facing travel chaos as the government shutdown drags on – with flights being delayed upwards of three hours. AP
People arrive at Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport on November 6, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. Getty Images
Those flying out of the Garden State airport were warned to expect 45-minute delays and counting as of 7 p.m., the FAA added.
The lengthy delay is in effect until at least the early hours of Friday morning, the FAA said. More than 810 flights have been called off nationwide, according to FlightAware
“Wouldn’t want to be flying out of Newark tonight,” one user posted on X alongside a timetable of delayed Newark’s flight departures.
Several high-traffic airports, including Newark and New York’s John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports, will be impacted by cancellations and delays on Friday as part of the FAA’s 10% airspace reduction to keep American travelers safe.
Newark Airport was bracing for massive disruptions beginning in the morning, while some travelers were already dealing with travel headaches on Thursday night.
“Tomorrow is gonna be a nightmare. Tomorrow, the FAA will just shut down. Get out while you can,” one Newark Airport worker, who wished not to be identified, told The Post late Thursday.
Passengers with flights arriving at the New Jersey transit hub Thursday evening faced average delays of roughly three and a half hours. French passengers wait for their flight to Paris. Getty Images
A couple checks the timetable showing delays at Newark Liberty International Airport on November 6, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. Getty Images
Elsewhere in the airport, airline customers were stranded and had to scramble for last-minute hotels and buses to their final destinations to dodge overnight stays at the terminal.
Milton Romero, 32, missed his connecting flight to Washington, DC, while on his way home from Miami due to a flight delay at Newark.
“The flight was delayed one time. A second time, three times. And now I just got here. My connecting flight to DC has left, so now I gotta figure out what to do. Pay for a hotel, or probably drive myself to DC,” he said.
Beginning Friday, 40 major airports across the United States will see a 10 percent reduction in air traffic controllers and service. Christopher Sadowski
Since Romero booked his flight through a third-party company, he had to contact them to arrange a partial refund.
“I don’t know what to do, this is my first time experiencing this, so I don’t know. I’m kind of shocked that I’m standing here by myself,” he said.
The dismayed traveler debated whether to purchase a $93 Greyhound bus ticket from Newark just after midnight to get him to his destination by 7 a.m.
Those flying out of the Garden State airport were warned to expect 45-minute delays Getty Images
Two 21-year-old college students learned that their flight to Johannesburg, South Africa — a trip they had been planning for a year — was cancelled while waiting at Newark during their layover time.
“We came from Washington, DC, and our flight got delayed, like, two hours. We were just all sitting on the plane, waiting to come here because of all the understaffing,” said one of the students who wished not to be named.
“And then, when we got here, our flight to Johannesburg got canceled. So now we need to get a hotel for tonight and fly to Johannesburg tomorrow at 8:50 p.m.,” she continued.
Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport will all be impacted by the FAA’s 10% airspace reduction amid the ongoing government shutdown. Christopher Sadowski
The airline the students were flying with only offered to foot 15% of the bill for the hotel stay, the students claimed.
Their final destination was supposed to be Livingstone, Zambia, for a school study abroad trip planned a year ago, the student recalled.
Meanwhile, at the Air Canada ticket counter, a drained mother who had just visited her daughter in Toronto was speaking to agents to try to find a flight back home to India after missing her connecting flight since her first flight was delayed.
“Two, three, four hours. Four hours late. And now the next flight is tomorrow, 6:00 p.m.,” she said. ”And no help and I feel tired. I [didn’t] eat any food, then this switching terminals, go here, go there, waiting for my bags, I am old and I’m just exhausted.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy already warned earlier this week that “mass chaos” could erupt once the reduction plan goes into effect. Christopher Sadowski
Diane Kieras-Ciolkos, a travel agency business owner from Massachusetts, was worried about how the sweeping flight delays and cancellations could hurt her business after she was hit with a whopping four-hour delay back to Boston from Newark.
“Well, this is going to possibly greatly affect many clients. So what I’ve done while I was personally traveling is texting and getting in touch with all of our clients that had flights today and tomorrow,” Kieras-Ciolkos, 54, said.
“We get paid when people travel, and looking at this,” she said, pointing at airport screens showing countless flight delays. “People become fearful. Where does that leave us?”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the drastic cuts to flights on Wednesday and warned that “mass chaos” could erupt when the reduction goes into effect.
The change, which could ground as many as 4,000 flights nationwide, comes as many air traffic controllers have called out sick while not being paid during the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown.
The embattled Newark Airport has experienced the brunt of staffing shortages, with several ground stops and ground delays issued in recent weeks.
But even before Oct. 1, airports nationwide have been grappling with a scarcity of air traffic controllers. The shutdown — now nearing 40 days — has only compounded the issue.
On Sunday, Duffy warned that airport delays are “going to get worse”.
He previously maintained that the feds would “stop traffic” if the staffing shortages became a safety issue, but added “we’re not going to let that happen,” while talking on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” with Margaret Brennan.
The chaos comes just weeks before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest transit holidays of the year.
Flights leaving LaGuardia Airport are also delayed by up to one hour Thursday evening due to unrelated wind conditions, the FAA said.