Here’s what we know.

What’s happening at Newark?

There were 482 flight delays and 141 cancellations on Sunday, according to the tracking website FlightAware. The impediments have continued through Monday, with at least 270 delays and 151 cancellations as of 2 p.m.

The delays at the major New York-area airport are mainly due to staffing issues.  

What’s causing the delays?

Newark lost 20% of its air traffic controllers staffing this previous week due to walk-offs, and as a result, the airport can’t manage the number of flights that are scheduled to depart and land at the airport.

The walk-offs were led by air traffic controllers citing burnout from long hours and struggling with staffing shortages.

Nationally, staffing for air traffic controllers is at its lowest point in 30 years, according to testimony given before Congress by Nick Daniels, president of the controllers union. There is a need for 3,000 air traffic controllers across the country in order to reach adequate staffing levels. In 2023, the Federal Aviation Agency only managed to meet 70% of its staffing targets in recruiting fully certified air traffic controllers. 

In addition to struggling with staffing levels, there have been failures with the technology that allows the air traffic controllers to manage the flights at Newark. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said while the existing system is outdated, it is still safe to use. However, it is making strides to implement a new system that doesn’t rely on “floppy disks” or “copper wires,” which the current system relies on. 

“We’re going to do this, rebuild a brand-new system, as we’re having airplanes take off and land,” Duffy said. “We can do it – we’re America – but it’s going to take some time.”

Officials are also pointing to a closed runway from April to June due to rehabilitation work as another reason for the delays and cancellations at Newark. 

How are leaders responding to chronic issues?

While airports across the country have struggled with staffing shortages, American Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said workers at Newark have been especially exacerbated. 

“This particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it‘s now clear — and the FAA tells us — that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” Kirby said.

Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the FAA would begin offering $5,000 bonuses for new hires. 

The secretary also pointed to the breakdown in morale due to reliance on old technology, thus prompting him to announce a plan to revamp the air traffic controller systems.

“The technology that we are using is old,” Duffy said on X. “That’s what is causing the outages and delays we are seeing at Newark. If we don’t act, we will start to see these issues across the national airspace. That’s why I’m announcing a plan next week to build an all-new air traffic control system.”

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said he has confidence in Duffy’s ability to address the air traffic controller shortage.

“The flight delays and cancellations over the past few days at @EWRairport have been completely and utterly unacceptable,” Murphy tweeted. ”I know @SecDuffy is committed to addressing our nationwide air traffic controller shortage by supercharging hiring. The past few days have shown us exactly why we need to reverse the decades of staffing decline at the FAA.”