Weather-related delays on top of staffing shortages and runway construction have snarled travel at one of the nation’s busiest airports.
Passengers traveling through Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday were confronted with cancellations and hourslong delays as disruptions to air traffic there extended into a second week.
Low clouds on Monday prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to pause departures of planes heading to Newark, leading to delays averaging four hours and exacerbating the travel chaos at one of the nation’s busiest airports. More than 200 flights into and out of Newark had been delayed on Monday morning, according to the tracking site FlightAware.
Major flight disruptions started early last week, when the Philadelphia air traffic control center experienced equipment failures and staffing issues, the F.A.A. said. It came as one of Newark’s three runways has been closed for construction and as air traffic control centers nationwide have experienced staffing shortages. United said last week that it was forced to cut 35 round-trip flights per day from its Newark schedule.
The scene at the main United terminal at Newark on Monday was relatively calm, but travelers whose flights had been canceled expressed frustration with being directed to online customer service agents.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York on Monday called for the Office of the Inspector General to investigate the problems at Newark, saying a “real forensic look” into safety issues and outdated technology was needed.
“To say that there is just minor turbulence at Newark Airport and the F.A.A. that would be the understatement of the year,” Mr. Schumer, the minority leader, said at a news conference. “We’re here because the F.A.A. is really a mess.”