Updated March 17, 2026, 12:46 p.m. ET
Flight delays and cancellations on the tri-state’s three main airports continued March 17 amid the continued authorities shutdown that has triggered friction between the native transportation company and federal officers.
There had been 180 flights delayed and 42 canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport as of 12:30 p.m., based on the monitoring app FlightAware. There had been an extra 170 delays and 71 cancellations at JFK, and 189 delays and 56 cancellations at LaGuardia.
The numbers, whereas nonetheless excessive, had been properly beneath those reported March 16 as wet climate turned severe later within the day. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for elements of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland from late within the morning by means of 7 p.m.
The situations resulted in more than 1,200 airport delays all through the day, together with 515 at Newark, 423 at JFK and 347 at LaGuardia. There had been an extra 902 flights canceled on the three places: 446 at LaGuardia, 285 at JFK and 171 at Newark.
Airports domestically and throughout the nation have additionally been impacted by the partial government shutdown, which started Feb. 13 and has left tens of hundreds of airport employees with out pay. The shutdown facilities on disagreements amongst lawmakers on allocating spending for airport safety and different nationwide security measures, most notably Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A brand new video from the Department of Homeland Security, which the company directed to be performed in safety strains at airports, states that the lengthy wait instances skilled by vacationers are “due to the ongoing Democrat shutdown.” It additionally encourages the general public to thank staff with the Transportation Security Administration, who “have shown up to work despite having missed paychecks.”
But not all airports are complying with the DHS request to play the video. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees Newark, JFK and LaGuardia, confirmed to NorthJersey.com that the message isn’t being proven at any of the three airports resulting from its political content material.
“The Port Authority’s longstanding policies prevent airing of politically partisan messages at our facilities,” the company stated, “so our airports are not airing the video on airport-controlled screens.”
