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“Staffing issues” forced a ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
According to NBC New York, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted flights at the major East Coast hub for 75 minutes.
The ground stop lasted from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Flights continued operating at a roughly 40-minute delay after the ground stop.
A ground delay is now in place through 11 p.m.
Air Traffic Staffing Issues Amid Shutdown Cause Ground Stop At Newarkhttps://t.co/n3g9tohezv pic.twitter.com/ProVNLyIor
— Forbes (@Forbes) October 29, 2025
NBC New York has more:
Airports, especially Newark, have been flagged for air traffic control-related delays in recent months — and with fallout expected to broaden, the problem could escalate.
Air traffic controllers missed their paychecks Tuesday because of the ongoing government shutdown, and that has Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the head of the controllers’ union concerned that increasingly stressed-out controllers will call out sick.
Recent absences have led to a number of isolated delays around the country because the Federal Aviation Administration was already extremely short on controllers prior to the shutdown. The FAA restricts the number of flights landing and taking off at an airport anytime there is a shortage of controllers to ensure safety.
There’s no way to predict when or where delays might happen because even a small number of absences can disrupt operations at times. Sometimes the delays are only 30 minutes, but some airports have reported delays more than two hours long — and some have even had to stop all flights temporarily.
Earlier this week, the FAA announced a ground delay at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Major Airport Faces Ground Delay Amid Government Shutdown, FAA Says
“America’s air traffic controllers will receive their first ZERO-DOLLAR paycheck tomorrow,” the USDOT Rapid Response X account stated.
“Democrats must open up our government!” it added.
🚨America’s air traffic controllers will receive their first ZERO-DOLLAR paycheck tomorrow.
Democrats must open up our government! pic.twitter.com/NnSU3skWM4
— USDOT Rapid Response (@USDOTRapid) October 27, 2025
“Air traffic controllers will stop getting paid starting TOMORROW. This is not ok! I just visited several of them at @goingplacesCLE and they are worried about paying their mortgage. @SenSchumer and @RepJeffries you’ve got to do better!” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
Air traffic controllers will stop getting paid starting TOMORROW. This is not ok!
I just visited several of them at @goingplacesCLE and they are worried about paying their mortgage.@SenSchumer and @RepJeffries you’ve got to do better! pic.twitter.com/9czpNlu1Tk
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) October 27, 2025
The New York Post provided further info:
Some controllers have called out sick and picked up second jobs to pay the bills.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Tuesday that 44% of Sunday’s flight delays, and around 24% on Monday, were a direct result of air traffic controller staffing issues.
Those figures represent a sharp increase from about 5% of the total airport delays previously this year.
Democrats voted for the 13th time on Tuesday to keep the federal government shuttered, with the negotiations seemingly going nowhere.
“This is horrible and totally unnecessary,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X in reaction to the ground stop.
“President Trump continues to call on Democrats to vote for the clean CR to OPEN the government,”
The Garden State airport was upended into chaos over the spring and summer, with hundreds of flight cancellations, air traffic controller shortages, technology glitches, and runway construction.
In late April, air traffic controllers at a facility in Philadelphia who were tasked with guiding planes to and from Newark Airport faced dark radar screens for at least 30.
The FAA dramatically cut the number of flights coming in and out of Newark in May to ease the strain on controllers.