Newark Airport Was Among ‘Worst In America For Delays’ Last Summer. These New Upgrades Will Help, Feds Say

NEWARK, NJ — Newark Airport was widely considered one of the “worst in America” for delays last summer, besieged by a combination of serious equipment failures, antiquated infrastructure, a chronic lack of air traffic controllers, major runway construction and bouts of bad weather.

Hopefully, replacing the airport’s 30-year-old radar will help to create a smoother ride for passengers in the days ahead, federal authorities say.

On Tuesday, a new surface movement radar system was installed at the busy New Jersey travel center, which sees more than 1,000 flights per day. The equipment will allow air traffic controllers to track aircraft and vehicles on runways and taxiways during severe weather or poor visibility conditions.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the effort to upgrade Newark Airport has been ramping up since the summer of 2025, when it was “one of the worst airports in America for delays.”

In addition to the new radar system, other recent improvements have included:

• Overseeing a software patch to fix glitches and prevent outages
• Expediting the deployment of new fiber to replace copper wiring
• Completing runway construction ahead of schedule
• Rebalancing flight volume to match controller staffing

As of this week, Newark Airport has replaced 90 percent of its copper wiring with high-speed fiber to enhance communication, and is currently transitioning from paper flight strips to new electronic flight strips, the transportation department said.

More upgrades are expected to cross the finish line before the end of the summer next year, including new electronic information displays, voice switches and long-range radar for air traffic controllers.

“From replacing Newark’s ancient copper wire to investing $30 million into new infrastructure and bringing new radar online, we are delivering real safety and efficiency enhancements at one of our nation’s busiest airports,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

• Related: Feds Launch Probe Into Frustrating Delays At Newark Airport
• Related: Radio Cuts Out At Newark Airport Again, Outage Adds To Growing List
• Related: Newark Airport Delays Are Getting Better, Airline CEO Says – Here's Why

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