Newark records 81 delays, 6 cancellations

Newark Liberty International Airport logged 81 delayed flights and six cancellations on Thursday, May 22, according to a Travel And Tour World report that said the disruptions touched both transatlantic and regional service. The outlet said United, AeroMéxico, Lufthansa and Icelandair were among the carriers affected. The report came as Memorial Day weekend travel accelerated across the United States and as passengers on some United flights described hours-long tarmac waits at Newark earlier in the week. FAA status information later showed Newark operating with only limited general delays, underscoring how airport-wide conditions and individual flight disruptions can diverge. ### Where did the 81 delays and six cancellations figure come from? Travel And Tour World published the count in a Newark operations roundup tied to disruptions on May 21 and May 22. The report said the interruptions affected flights linked to both long-haul international routes and shorter domestic segments, and it identified United, AeroMéxico, Lufthansa and Icelandair among the airlines involved. (travelandtourworld.com) The Travel And Tour World report is the source for the specific 81-delay, six-cancellation tally cited in this story. FAA airport-status data does not provide that same airline-by-airline count; it gives a broader operating snapshot for the airport as a whole. ### What else was happening at Newark that week? NBC New York reported on Friday, May 22, that passengers on multiple United Airlines flights said they were stuck aboard planes for hours on the tarmac at Newark on Wednesday, May 21. (travelandtourworld.com) Some of those flights were later canceled after lengthy waits, according to the station. NJ.com separately reported that severe thunderstorms left travelers stranded at Newark for hours earlier in the week, with officials blaming the disruptions on storm-related delays. (travelandtourworld.com) That report adds weather context to the broader disruption pattern around the airport during the run-up to the holiday weekend. ### Does FAA data show Newark still in major trouble? (nbcnewyork.com) The FAA’s Newark status page, updated May 22, said no destination-specific delays were being reported and that general departure and arrival delays were running at 15 minutes or less. The FAA page also says its airport status is not flight-specific and directs travelers to check with their airline for individual impacts. That means a traveler could still face a cancellation, aircraft swap or long delay even when the airport’s overall FAA status appears relatively normal. (nj.com) The contrast between the FAA snapshot and the airline-specific disruptions reported by local media and Travel And Tour World is a reminder that the two data points measure different things. ### Which airlines were named? United was the most visible airline in local reporting because passengers described extended tarmac delays on United flights departing Newark. (fly.faa.gov) Travel And Tour World also named AeroMéxico, Lufthansa and Icelandair in its account of the May 21-22 disruptions. The available source material reviewed here does not provide a complete public breakdown of exactly how many delayed or canceled Newark flights were assigned to each named carrier. (fly.faa.gov) Travelers looking for a specific flight outcome still need to rely on airline alerts and airport departure boards. ### What should travelers check before heading to the airport? Newark’s official departures page said on Saturday evening that security wait times were relatively short across terminals, with Terminal A at about three minutes and Terminal C at about three minutes, while some Terminal B checkpoints ranged higher. (nbcnewyork.com) The airport says gate information is typically posted about three hours before departure and tells passengers to confirm check-in deadlines with their airline. (travelandtourworld.com) The FAA says Newark’s airport-wide status is only a general operating guide, and the airport website directs passengers to contact their airline for flight-specific updates. For travelers flying through EWR over Memorial Day weekend, the next practical checks are the airline app, the Newark departures page and FAA airport-status updates. (fly.faa.gov) (newarkairport.com)