Duffy: Newark to Ramp Up Flights as Runway Reopens Early

Transportation secretary says airport will maintain a rate of 34 arrivals and departures per hour through October.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, June 03, 2025 at 10:56 AM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

An air traffic control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport [Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

Key Takeaways:

Newark Liberty International Airport's primary Runway 4L/22R reopened about two weeks early following rehabilitation, allowing flight operations to increase from 28 to 34 movements per hour by mid-June.
The airport still faces challenges including air traffic controller staffing shortages at the Philadelphia TRACON and recent telecommunications outages, with efforts underway to train new controllers and replace faulty copper wiring with fiber optics.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy highlighted ongoing initiatives to address these issues and emphasized a broader, multi-billion-dollar plan to modernize the nation's outdated air traffic control systems.

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Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) continues to contend with equipment and staffing issues that created major disruptions in April and May. But the airport could ramp up activity earlier than expected.

On Monday, Newark’s 11,000-foot Runway 4L/22R—the busiest of its three runways for departures—reopened for departures about two weeks before a $121 million rehabilitation effort was slated to end. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the airport could boost the rate of arrivals and departures from 28 to 34 per hour once the runway is certified for arrivals, which he predicted will happen June 9 or 10.