Flight hell at Newark Airport strands hundreds as ground stop hits staffing crisis while shutdown drags on

Due to staffing concerns, Newark Airport was put under a ground stop Sunday morning as the country continues to be crippled by the government shutdown.

The warning was released early on Sunday morning by the New Jersey airport, which handles over 1,200 planes daily. Hundreds of tourists' plans will be derailed by the anticipated 12-59 p.m. Monday delay. Out of Newark, there are presently 30 cancelled and 89 delayed flights. Flightaware reports that some arriving flights are delayed by two hours. Serving over 50 carriers, Newark is ranked as the ninth busiest airport in the nation.

The ground stop follows severe staffing shortages at multiple US airports brought on by the government shutdown, which started on October 1. Over 13,000 air traffic controllers have been forced to labor for no compensation.

A "staffing" issue was cited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the reason for the pause for Newark between 7 and 8.45 a.m. Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, made a statement this morning regarding the continuous delays in the US.

"I've been talking to air traffic controllers and there really is frustration. There's a shutdown right now, the democrats are focusing on illegal healthcare," he told ABC.

"They don't get paid as air traffic controllers. Those are burning frustrations, like in the rest of the country." The administration will "delay" and "cancel any kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure people are safe," Duffy continued, adding that "safety is his top priority."

"There is a level of risk when we have a controller doing two jobs instead of one. We manage and look out for it."

He reiterated that Americans' first concern when traveling is safety. If delays persist, Newark is anticipated to activate the Ground Delay Program, an air traffic management strategy. Given that the likelihood of an extension was rated as "medium level," the ground stay might last for a few more hours, which would interfere with the flight schedules of early morning travelers.

Newark has been closed due to staffing shortages many times this week. The airport experienced delays of around ninety minutes on Oct. 29.

The ground stop infuriated already-angry passengers who were getting ready to depart the airport on Sunday morning.

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One person wrote on X: "Newark Airport is the biggest joke on the planet,' while another added: 'Newark Airport count your days."

Another person attacked the present administration, saying, "Took forever to get through Newark airport customs last night; there's like no one working."