It’s been a brutal month for Newark Liberty International Airport, as telecommunications and radar outages have plagued one of the nation’s busiest airports, triggering delays and cancellations for thousands of passengers.

Passenger arrivals at Newark from April 28 to May 20 declined about 13% from the year-ago period, according to Italy-based Data Appeal, a tourism data provider, while passenger arrivals to LaGuardia increased 5.7% in the same period, though JFK traffic fell 7% in that time due to reduced international travel demand.

The airport, which has suffered from staffing shortages and communications breakdowns, faces the first big weekend leading up to summer.

Air traffic controllers across the country have grappled with radar and communications outages for years, CNN review finds.

The Justice Department charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka with trespassing during a visit to an ICE facility in the city, but days later has now dropped the case.

Despite fixes, the city and owner of Delaney Hall still disagree on the need for a new certificate of occupancy.

The FAA is capping arrivals at Newark Airport to 28 per hour starting October 2025 to ease congestion, improve efficiency, and support ongoing runway upgrades.

The DOJ charged Ras Baraka with trespassing outside an ICE facility, then dropped the charges. A federal judge called the DOJ's actions "embarrassing."

Mayor Ras J. Baraka was arrested May 9 outside an immigrant detention center, though federal prosecutors later decided to drop the charges.

But smooth sailing out of the airport — deemed a “travel hellhole” by frustrated frequent flyers over the past few weeks — has become virtually impossible. The disarray is largely due to a string of air-traffic control outages, construction issues and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee walk-offs .