Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Airline passengers faced delays of more than four hours on Sunday as the government shutdown continued to disrupt travel.
Images from Flightradar24 showed a long line of planes on a taxiway waiting their turn to take off from Newark Liberty International Airport.
They were mostly United Airlines jets, as the airport is one of the carrier's main hubs.
lol at this lineup of takeoffs waiting to leave Newark, which is currently experiencing average delays of…. 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Even if your flight isn’t cancelled, good luck getting to your destination on time. pic.twitter.com/N4X9NjlITB— Zach Griff (@_ZachGriff) November 9, 2025
Newark saw the third-most cancellations of any airport in the US on Sunday, according to data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium.
There were 237 cancellations, or 15% of all those scheduled.
Passengers faced an average delay of over two hours, and up to four and a half hours, according to a Federal Aviation Administration advisory issued Sunday morning.
It said this was due to staffing, which has hampered airports across the country since the government shutdown began on October 1.
As well as staffing issues, local news outlet ABC7 reported that the situation was made worse by a runway construction project being undertaken over the weekend.
One video shared by dozens of accounts on X appeared to show the extent of the line of planes waiting to take off.
Chaotic visuals from Newark Liberty International Airport as Dozens of planes lined up amid hours-long delays early today due to a nationwide air traffic meltdown.#shutdown #aviation #airtraffic pic.twitter.com/yqYGwNFDy1
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) November 9, 2025
The New York City area was particularly hard hit by cancellations on Sunday, with LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International ranked fifth and eighth, respectively, per Cirium.
More than 2,000 flights were canceled nationwide, marking the 11th-worst day since the start of 2024.
Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began.
Now at 40 days and the longest in US history, fewer controllers have been turning up to work.
That prompted the FAA to issue an emergency order last week, mandating a 10% reduction in flights at 40 of the country's busiest airports.
Senators met for a rare Sunday session, reaching a deal that could end the shutdown.
However, the Senate still needs to debate the measure, and it must also be passed by the House of Representatives.
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