Is the government shutdown impacting flight delays at Newark Airport? By the numbers
In Burbank, California, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration had to delay flights because the tower was unstaffed for a few hours on the evening of Oct. 6, according to USA TODAY. A similar issue occurred in Nashville Oct. 7.
People are shown at Newark Liberty International Airport at Terminal B, Monday, September 1, 2025.
Now, as the shutdown enters its ninth day, thousands of federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration screeners and FAA air traffic controllers, are continuing to work without pay.
Historically, these essential workers have eventually started to call out of work during shutdowns, leading to longer security lines and delays at airports around the country.
While delay numbers have been fairly low so far, according to USA TODAY, isolated delays at some airports have indicated cracks in the system, and have left travelers wondering what the shutdown could mean for their flights.
Here is a look at the recent numbers at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Delays reported at Newark Airport
A total of 81 flights had been delayed at Newark Airport as of 1:06 p.m. on Oct. 9, according to FlightAware, which tracks cancellations and delays at airports around the world.
FlightAware reported a total of 235 delays at Newark Liberty International Airport on Oct. 6.
Oct. 7 saw 119 delays and Oct. 8, saw 163 delays, according to FlightAware.
It is important to note, however, that delays can be caused by numerous factors, such as weather or travel volume.
At 9:17 a.m. Oct. 9, for example, the FAA reported an average departure delay of 15 minutes at Newark Airport due to "vol:multi-taxi." According to the National Business Aviation Association, this means that too many aircraft at a particular airport are trying to taxi at once, leading to congestion and departure delays.
In an Oct. 9 statement, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark Airport, said, "As the Port Authority is a self-sustaining non-federal agency, a government shutdown does not impact our ability to operate our own facilities, like the airport terminals."
The statement continues, "However, as we saw in 2018-19, a federal government shutdown does affect federal workers who are essential to the functioning of the Port Authority's airports - including TSA and CBP agents and air traffic controllers - which could result in delays and severe operating challenges at the airports."
According to the Port Authority, it is not currently experiencing operational impacts at its airports.
To help mitigate any potential impacts to customers, Port Authority added that it is "continuously monitoring staffing levels at TSA checkpoints and CBP inspection areas, deploying additional customer care resources as needed, and closely coordinating with our federal partners and the broader airport community.”
Added pressure to an understaffed and overworked control tower
This shutdown comes as air traffic controllers at Newark Airport are already under immense stress, with the terminal radar approach control tower, aka TRACON, in Philadelphia, operating with only 48% staff.
Air traffic controllers have long been working with outdated technology, which caused several outages in April and May when radar and telecom systems went down.
As a result of these issues, the number of flights at Newark were reduced from 77 flights an hour to 68 following the spring's blackouts. The aiport is capable of handling 80 flights an hour.
In a news conference at Newark Airport Oct. 6, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recognized that the stress of the shutdown is exacerbating an already-bad situation.
"When they come to work, I want them to think about the departures and arrivals of airplanes. I want to make sure they keep Americans safe and airplanes safe," Duffy said. "This shutdown has put way more stress on our controllers at a time where they're already working on equipment from the 1960s, 1980s, 1990s."
