Over the past several weeks, Newark Liberty International Airport has become Exhibit A for everything that’s gone wrong with flying in America. Air traffic control systems have failed repeatedly. Flight delays and cancellations have mounted, even as the summer travel season kicks off this weekend with forecasts predicting near-record numbers of air travelers nationwide.
Sadly, Newark is not the exception; it’s a harbinger of all we can expect in years to come. America is experiencing both an aviation safety meltdown and a monopolization crisis. They are combining to make flying both more expensive and more dangerous.
The Trump administration is saying one thing and doing another.
The problems at Newark began in late April with a frightening air traffic control failure that left controllers unable to communicate with aircraft for 90 harrowing seconds. And then it happened again. And again. These technical failures at the nation’s 12th-busiest airport have frightened air traffic controllers to the point of taking trauma leave.
NBC News called Newark a “no-fly zone” while wits online claimed EWR — the airport’s call letters — means “Enter With Regret.” They weren’t kidding. On May 4 alone, there were 482 flight delays and 141 out-and-out cancellations. This particularly affected United Airlines, which operates more than 70% of the passenger flights at Newark — one of the most monopolized hubs in the country.
But the issues at Newark aren’t Newark’s alone. Denver International Airport, for instance, experienced a similar 90-second air traffic control outage earlier this month. Across the country, the air traffic control system is crumbling due to antiquated infrastructure and chronic understaffing.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which operates the world’s largest and most complex air traffic control system, needs to at long last fully staff, equip and fund that system. This long-standing problem dates back to when President Ronald Reagan fired thousands of striking air traffic controllers in 1981. Since then, air travel has tripled in the U.S., but staffing and modernization of systems have not kept pace.
As Sean Duffy, Donald Trump’s new transportation secretary, acknowledges, air traffic control systems have suffered from “decades of neglect.” But the Trump administration is saying one thing and doing another. Its DOGE arm has laid off critical FAA support staff. And threatened terminations and senseless memos from Elon Musk have depleted controller morale.
Newark, in other words, is not unique. It’s just experiencing long, ongoing systemic problems in a particularly horrible way. But what happens in Newark doesn’t stay in Newark — and this is where your wallet enters the picture.
Many passengers don’t realize that they benefit from all low-fare airlines even without flying them.
Served by three highly congested major airports, greater New York City is the largest airline market in the U.S. and second only to London worldwide. It is, you probably don’t need me to tell you, strained to capacity. Even before the latest issues, the NYC region experienced the most flight delays in the United States last year.
After decades of neglect, there is no quick fix for Newark’s air traffic control woes. As a result, the FAA is looking to long-term cutbacks in the number of flights allowed in and out of the troubled airport. It is now soliciting comments on imposing slot controls at Newark. If implemented, the FAA will actively monitor and limit the number of hourly takeoffs and landings, as it currently does at New York’s LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, as well as Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.
Because of its hub operation, United and its subsidiary United Express control most of EWR’s market share. But the airport is also serviced by five low-fare airlines, including Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant.
These low-cost airlines are already under siege: Today, the Big Four carriers of American, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United control an unprecedented 80% of the domestic market, and we have fewer carriers (and fewer new entrants) than we’ve had in a century. Dozens of mergers in recent years have left us with an oligopoly that makes flying more expensive and treats customer service as an afterthought.
The FAA must ensure these low-budget carriers are fairly represented in Newark slot allocations. Many passengers don’t realize that they benefit from all low-fare airlines even without flying them, because these companies force even the Big Four to lower fares on competitive routes. A 2023 study by the National Air Carrier Association (representing low-fare airlines) found average fares of $61 for their member airlines, compared to $248 for American, $258 for Delta and $288 for United.
Large and complex challenges are facing America’s commercial aviation system, but we all benefit from a safe, fair, equitable, financially sound airline industry. Now, everyone can see the meltdown at Newark. It’s time to sensibly fund and staff the FAA and ensure access to the nation’s airports is shared freely and equitably.