A ground stop was issued at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday afternoon due to “staffing issues” as the historic government shutdown continues.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights at the major East Coast hub at 3 p.m. local time and stated it would last until 4:15 p.m., according to NBC4.
The government chaos is forcing staff shortages at one of America’s busiest airport. REUTERS
The ground stop was lifted shortly after — with a ground delay now in place through 11 p.m., according to an FAA advisory.
Passengers can expect flights to be delayed by an average of 40 minutes, the agency said.
Air traffic controllers, who are considered essential workers, have been working grueling work weeks without pay since the shutdown began on Oct. 1st.
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.
“The situation at EWR (Newark) is not fixable. This airport needs to be torn down,” one user fumed on X.
The FAA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
