How Newark airport's problems could affect you

If you're flying any time soon, you may be wise to avoid Newark Liberty International Airport.Why it matters: Newark has been a mess lately — including major disruptions this week that left hundreds of flights delayed or canceled — and there's little immediate relief in sight.The Newark situation has so far resulted in massive delays, not calamity.But radar and radio outages in such busy airspace, for any amount of time, present a serious safety threat.Driving the news: Newark's problems over the past few days are fourfold.Air traffic control staffing: The FAA last year moved controllers responsible for Newark approaches and departures from a facility on Long Island to Philadelphia, in a controversial bid to improve chronically short staffing.Technical issues related to the FAA's move have caused multiple brief but harrowing moments where Newark controllers lost their radar feeds and radio frequencies. Several controllers went on trauma leave after those episodes — which left them without the tools required to keep hundreds of people safe at any given moment — exacerbating the staffing problems.Long-planned runway maintenance is limiting the number of takeoffs and landings possible.Bad weather over the last few days has complicated operations at Newark and across the broader New York City area.By the numbers: Newark reported 377 delays and 150 cancellations on Tuesday, per FlightAware.At one point Tuesday evening, average delays there were approaching a whopping six hours. The big picture: Newark's troubles come as anxiety is already running high in the flying world only months after January's catastrophic mid-air collision over Washington, D.C.Problems at Newark can reverberate through the entire air traffic system. If you're flying from Chicago to San Francisco but your plane is inbound from Newark, you could be affected.State of play: Newark powerhouse United Airlines is cutting flights there and offering affected passengers the option to switch to LaGuardia or Philadelphia."It's disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers," United CEO Scott Kirby wrote in a May 2 letter.What's next: The FAA announced a series of steps Wednesday it's taking to fix Newark's technical issues and controller shortages.The agency is also slowing the pace of Newark arrivals and departures to alleviate pressure on the system.Yes, but: It's unclear why some of these steps — like ensuring system redundancy — weren't taken before moving controllers from Long Island to Philadelphia. The bottom line: None of the planned changes will fix Newark's woes overnight.

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