Newark Liberty International (EWR) has led all major Northeast airports so far this year with the most on-time flights in 2026, according to a report from United Airlines, which has a hub at the facility. That’s a notable achievement given the airport’s ranking about a year ago, according to the report.
United, EWR’s largest carrier, achieved its best-ever on-time rate in April and May at Newark, while flying nearly 5.8 million passengers. The airline is off to a strong start this summer, flying a record 3 million passengers across its network over the Memorial Day holiday with nearly 70% of customers arriving on time. The airline expects more than 53 million travelers this summer.
Last spring, noted the report, EWR experienced a confluence of challenges — FAA radar and radio outages, air traffic control staffing shortages and existing runway construction — that produced significant delays, diversions and cancellations. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and the FAA, said the report, stepped in by improving staffing, upgrading technology at the airport and, importantly, limiting flights to ensure that the schedules out of Newark match the actual capacity of the airport.
United CEO Scott Kirby visited the airport this week and said, “Newark has operated better than it ever has and that’s a direct result of the actions taken by Secretary Duffy and the FAA as well as the professionalism, dedication and care of our nearly 15,000 local employees.” Newark, he said, is the “crown jewel” of United’s international network serving as a global gateway to dozens of international destinations.
Newark, according to United, offers nonstop service to 42 destinations across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India — more transatlantic destinations than any other carrier from the New York City area.
The hub connects United customers to 15 destinations no other US airline serves, including recently launched service to Split, Croatia; Bari, Italy; Glasgow, Scotland; and Santiago de Compostela, Spain. United will become the only US airline offering nonstop flights between Newark/New York and Seoul, South Korea, beginning Sept. 4.
