Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) has been in the news a lot lately, and not in a good way. The airport has seen massive operational issues, due to a combination of runway construction and air traffic control issues. So along those lines, there’s at least some good news now…
Newark Airport runway construction finishes early
One of the major challenges facing Newark Airport has been that one of the airport’s three runways has been under construction, significantly limiting capacity. Specifically, we’re talking about runway 4L/22R. Work on the $121 million project first started in March 2025, though the runway was only fully closed in mid-April 2025.
While the project was supposed to be wrapped up by June 15, 2025, there’s a positive development. The runway is actually reopening as of today, so the project has wrapped up 13 days ahead of schedule. An airport construction project wrapping up well ahead of schedule?! Color me impressed!
Keep in mind that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently greatly limited traffic at Newark, to avoid the issues with delays. With this reduction, the airport has been limited to 28 flight arrivals and 28 flight departures per hour.
With runway construction completed, the plan is to increase that to 34 arrivals and 34 departures per hour. Since the work wrapped up early, that should mean that the airport’s capacity can be boosted to that level. That’s exciting, and should lead to fewer delays.
Does that spell the end of problems for Newark?
Newark Airport’s third runway reopening is fantastic news, as it alleviates one of the major issues the airport has been facing. However, it’s not the only problem so I wouldn’t expect it to be fully smooth sailing from here. Newark Airport still faces issues with air traffic control:
- Newark has seen repeated, full air traffic control outages, where both radio and radar contact has been lost between controllers and planes
- Newark has a serious shortage of air traffic controllers, which is not just a function of the general air traffic controller shortage, but also the trauma leave that controllers have been on due to the issues
So all runways being operational should help with operational reliability. However, it’s not the only problem the airport has, so don’t be surprised if there are still some issues. Things should get much better, though.
Bottom line
Newark Airport’s closed runway has reopened nearly two weeks ahead of schedule. This is a positive development, as the closed runway was causing a lot of the operational issues we saw at the airport. However, the air traffic control issues remain, both in terms of technology and staffing. So I’d expect things to be better than before, but still not perfect.
What do you make of Newark Airport’s third runway reopening?
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