Robert Besser
27 May 2025, 08:17 GMT+10
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Passenger numbers at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey have dropped sharply, according to two travel companies. This happened after a series of air traffic problems made travelers choose other nearby airports instead.
According to Kayak, a part of Booking Holdings, arrivals at Newark have dropped by 19 percent and departures by 15 percent since April 28. The data shows that safety concerns are making travelers change their plans.
Many people are now willing to travel farther to avoid Newark. This comes after several technical problems at the airport, including a radar and telecom blackout on April 28 that lasted less than two minutes but caused dozens of flight delays and cancellations. This event made many flyers nervous.
Social media posts about the airport are mostly negative—98 percent of them, according to Sprout Social.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will reduce the number of flights at Newark to ease congestion.
Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said travelers now prefer LaGuardia first, then JFK, and only choose Newark as a last option—even if they live closer to Newark. "They just can't risk long delays," he said.
According to Data Appeal, an Italian tourism data firm, between April 28 and May 20, arrivals at Newark dropped 13 percent compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, LaGuardia arrivals rose by nearly 6 percent, although JFK saw a 7 percent drop because of lower international travel.
Even before these outages, Newark's total passenger numbers in March were already down 2.7 percent compared to last year, based on data from the Port Authority.
Some travelers are disappointed but feel they have no choice. Gabrielle J., 24, from Newark, said she loves Newark Airport but will fly from JFK to the Caribbean this summer. "Once the outages happened, we knew we couldn't fly from Newark," she said.
Ongoing runway repairs, expected to finish by June 15, have also hurt Newark's performance.
Stef Anderson, 28, from San Francisco, had a bad experience on May 16 when her United flight to Newark was delayed over eight hours before being canceled. She hopes her May 28 flight to Paris goes smoothly, as she plans to stay loyal to United Airlines because of her status.
"They have me in golden handcuffs - otherwise, I would fly Alaska," she said.
Get a daily dose of Belfast Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Belfast Bulletin.
More InformationBALLYMENA, Northern Ireland: A fire broke out at Larne Leisure Centre in Northern Ireland after several nights of violence and vandalism....
NEW DELHI, India - The world is in shock following Thursday's devastating plane crash in India which has killed at least 290 people,...
CO ANTRIM, Northern Ireland: Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set houses and cars on fire in the town of Ballymena, in...
LONDON, UK: Frederick Forsyth, the renowned British author behind The Day of the Jackal and numerous other bestselling thrillers, has...
MOSCOW, Russia: Russia's principal security agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), has accused British intelligence of using the...
An angry crowd in Northern Ireland set houses on fire and injured police officers after Romanian-speaking teens appeared in court ...
TEL AVIV, Israel - Israel has suffered casualties as Iran fights back from the Jewish state's unprecedented unilateral attacks which...
WEST JERUSALEM, Israel - The Israel Air Force has launched a pre-emptive Pearl Harbour style air raid over Iran, dropping bombs over...
NEW DELHI, India - The world is in shock following Thursday's devastating plane crash in India which has killed at least 290 people,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States has placed sanctions on two sons of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. These two...
LONDON, UK: Frederick Forsyth, the renowned British author behind The Day of the Jackal and numerous other bestselling thrillers, has...
PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines: A Chinese ship got stuck in shallow waters near a Philippine-controlled island in the disputed South...