Travel conditions are improving at a fraught Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) just in time for the busy summer season.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey completed construction of Runway 4-Left/22-Right at EWR.
The news comes on the heels of a flight reduction plan at Newark.
"This runway will only be open for departures, while FAA flight crews ensure the runway's navigational aids are tested, calibrated and safe to use for arrivals. This is standard protocol to ensure a runway is safe to use for pilots and the flying public," the FAA said in a statement.
"The airport will continue to operate with a maximum arrival rate of 28 aircraft an hour until those checks are complete. After that, the airport¡¯s maximum arrival rate will be 34 aircraft an hour. We expect the runway to fully open sometime the week of June 9."
"This is a 60-day project that's completed 13 days early," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pointed out during a press conference at Newark this week.
"We're 3,000 controllers short across the country right now," he said. "We've addressed the problem by bringing up more controllers to train in the Philadelphia TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) that controls Newark. Over the course of the next months, you're going to see improvements at this airport."
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby called it a "turning point" for the airport. "Once you start matching the number of flights to be equal to the capacity of the airport it allows the airport to run reliably as far into the future as you can look."
Travelers can visit fly.faa.gov for the latest updates at EWR.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
