by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:40 AM ET, Fri May 23, 2025
New data finds that travelers are trying to avoid Newark Liberty International Airport after weeks of air traffic disruptions, even before the FAA’s flight reduction plan is enacted at the airport.
Reuters reported that Kayak and Sprout Social have found that consumer sentiment around the airport is 98 percent negative on social media, while the airport’s seen a 19 percent drop in travelers choosing to fly to Newark since April 28.
Additionally, fifteen percent fewer travelers are choosing the airport to depart from.
"If they can get into LaGuardia, that's their number one pick, then JFK and then Newark," Kayak CEO Steve Hafner told Reuters. "Even if they live on the west side of Manhattan, because you just can't afford to risk a three- or four- hour delay."
Italian tourism data provider, Data Appeal, found that while arrivals in Newark were decreasing following the largest incident on April 28, which led to thousands of cancellations and delays, arrivals at LaGuardia increased 5.7 percent.
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to cut flights in and out of Newark to reduce further delays and cancellations, down to 28 arrivals an hour due to the airport’s construction, which will hamper operations, and to prevent more technology-based disruptions.
United Airlines, which has one of its main hubs at Newark, has already reduced flights by about 30 percent.
“Our plan is to slowly and safely build our schedule over the summer,” said United’s Vice President of Airport Operations, Jon Gooda. “However, because of the recent FAA decision, every airline’s schedule at EWR will be smaller than planned and smaller than last year, including ours. We’ll operate fewer daily flights this summer compared to last year, which gives us even more confidence that our EWR operation will continue to run reliably.”
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