United passengers stuck on Newark tarmac

United Airlines passengers described hours-long tarmac delays at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday, May 21, with some flights ultimately canceled after extended waits aboard aircraft, according to NBC New York. Passenger accounts pointed to multiple affected departures as severe thunderstorms disrupted operations at the airport ahead of Memorial Day weekend. NBC Chicago identified one of the delayed flights as a Chicago-bound United departure that sat on a non-active runway for nearly seven hours before cancellation. (nbcchicago.com) Newark was also reporting broader weather-related disruptions on May 21, according to local coverage and airport status updates. (fly.faa.gov) ### Which United flights were caught in the delays? Alan Tuerkheimer, a passenger interviewed by NBC Chicago, said he boarded his flight home to Chicago at 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday and remained stuck aboard for nearly seven hours before the flight was canceled. He told the station the aircraft was left parked on a non-active runway at Newark. NBC New York reported that passengers on multiple United flights said they were stranded for hours on the tarmac the same day, with some departures later canceled after the delays. (nbcnewyork.com) The station said the complaints came from travelers trying to leave Newark as weather and airport congestion built. ### What caused the Newark holdups? Severe thunderstorms hit the region on Wednesday and left Newark passengers stranded for hours, NJ.com reported. The outlet said the weather disruption rippled through airport operations, leaving travelers dealing with long waits on planes as well as baggage and rebooking problems. (nbcchicago.com) NorthJersey.com reported on May 21 that both Newark and LaGuardia were dealing with disruptions a day after severe weather and infrastructure problems had snarled travel before the holiday weekend. Its report cited FlightAware data showing delays and cancellations at Newark that day. (nbcnewyork.com) ### What did passengers say happened onboard? NBC Chicago quoted Tuerkheimer as saying, “They hung us out to dry,” after the delay on his Chicago-bound flight. His account described a trip that ended without departure after hours aboard the aircraft. (nj.com) NBC New York said travelers described prolonged onboard waits and said some flights were canceled only after those lengthy tarmac holds. The station’s report centered on passenger accounts rather than a formal incident bulletin. (northjersey.com) ### Was Newark still reporting delays afterward? The FAA’s Newark status page showed only minimal general departure delays by the time it was crawled on Friday, saying traffic was experiencing gate hold and taxi delays lasting 15 minutes or less. The FAA page also said the information was general airport status, not flight-specific. (nbcchicago.com) The FAA’s National Airspace System dashboard on Saturday morning showed no active Newark-specific airport event on its main status page, though it listed possible broader route and airport traffic-management measures elsewhere in the system later in the day. (nbcnewyork.com) ### Where should travelers check before flying Newark this weekend? United’s travel alerts page said passengers should check for travel-related alerts or waivers that may affect their trip and review their flight options if they are affected. The page did not show a Newark-specific Memorial Day advisory in the excerpt available, but it directs customers to trip-specific updates. (fly.faa.gov) Newark travelers heading into the Memorial Day weekend can monitor the FAA’s airport status page for general delay conditions and United’s alerts page for airline-specific rebooking or waiver information. Those updates are the next named checkpoints as airport traffic rises through Monday, May 25. (nasstatus.faa.gov) (fly.faa.gov) (united.com)