Newark Liberty International has led all major northeast airports so far this year with the most on-time flights in 2026, according to a June 2 announcement. United Airlines, the largest carrier at Newark, achieved its best-ever on-time rate in April and May while flying nearly 5.8 million passengers.
United began the summer by flying a record three 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 and continues to invest in onboard products and services as well as technologies such as Starlink Wi-Fi and updates to the United Mobile App.
Last spring, Newark faced several challenges including Federal Aviation Administration radar and radio outages, Air Traffic Control staffing shortages, and runway construction that caused delays, diversions, and cancellations. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and the FAA responded by improving staffing levels, upgrading technology at the airport, and limiting flights to match airport capacity.
United CEO Scott Kirby visited Newark to recognize these improvements and thank local employees. “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,” said Kirby. “Newark is the ‘crown jewel’ of our international network serving as a global gateway to dozens of international destinations – I’m proud of the work we’re doing here, and all across the country, to deliver a great experience and get our customers where they want to go safely and on time.”
The airline’s Newark operation connects customers to nearly 320 cities across North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean—including nonstop service to 42 destinations in Europe, Africa, Middle East, India—and will launch new routes such as nonstop service between Newark/New York and Seoul beginning September 4.
