Earlier this year, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) was in the news for all the wrong reasons. With air traffic control outages and capacity cuts plaguing the beleaguered facility, it quickly became an unwanted punchline in aviation, the media, and even the general public. This was bad news for United Airlines.
Indeed, the Chicago-based US ‘big three’ legacy carrier and Star Alliance founding member has a huge presence in Newark, with the airport being one of its key East Coast hubs. As such, the much-maligned airport’s struggles could have been an issue for United, but, instead, it has achieved a remarkable operational turnaround in Newark, culminating in its best-ever operational summer at the facility.
Back On Track
It is fair to say that 2025 didn’t get off to a great start for Newark, with staffing issues, capacity cuts, and air traffic control outages all contributing to something of a spring meltdown at the airport. With this in mind, United Airlines, which is the airport’s largest carrier, drew up a plan of action to get things back on track.
Four months later, this strategy appears to have paid dividends, with the carrier recently announcing that “United flights out of Newark arrived on-time more often this summer than flights operated by airlines out of JFK or LaGuardia.” This resulted in the airline enjoying “its best operational summer ever at Newark,” despite its earlier issues. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy welcomed the progress, stating that:
“United’s continued investment in Newark Airport will serve as a significant economic driver for our region, creating thousands of new jobs for New Jersey communities. I thank United CEO Scott Kirby for his partnership in supporting our region’s world-class transportation infrastructure.”
Crunching The Numbers
United Airlines’ operational excellence at Newark Liberty Airport came in the face of increased passenger loadings, with more international flights (over 20,000) leaving the airport than any other United hub. Of these, over 8,200 flew to Europe, with all 32 of United’s European destinations served from Newark this summer. This represents just under half of EWR’s overall international network (82 routes).
Of United’s 82 international destinations that it serves from Newark Liberty International Airport, it has added 12 since 2018, with six new routes coming in this year alone. Given that many of these are long-haul flights, it is unsurprising to note that “Newark has more widebody departures than any other United hub.”
The performance achieved by United at its New Jersey hub in the last few months meant that this summer saw it handle its highest-ever number of on-time passengers, with over six million of the carrier’s guests punctually passing through its doors from June to August. It also deployed ‘Connection Saver’ technology to help over 28,000 passengers successfully make tight transits at the New Jersey facility.
The Airport As A Whole Is Now Better Supported
In the context of the airport as a whole, Newark is now the subject of several different initiatives that are designed to help its operations run more smoothly, following the issues faced amid the hub’s springtime struggles. For instance, a runway construction project was completed two weeks early in June. Additionally, the FAA has decided to limit the number of flights that can operate at Newark Liberty Airport.
It initially did so back in May by implementing an hourly cap of 68 movements. This has tentatively been lifted to 72 until next summer, and means that, while fewer flights are operating, those that do are more likely to be on time. Indeed, United notes that the previous limit of 86 was “well above Newark’s maximum theoretical capacity even in ideal operating conditions,” which frequently resulted in congestion.
Given the widely publicized ATC issues, including temporary outages, that Newark Airport had to come to terms with earlier in the year, the FAA has also offered support on this front by “installing a new fiber optic network to support the air traffic control system.” With the facility back on track, United is now looking to the future, and has already confirmed that flights from Newark to Greenland will return in 2026.