July 16, 2026

Newark escalated to a ground stop over staffing tonight and its delay program is running past midnight, while LaGuardia cleared

EWR went from a GDP into a ground stop at 7:47 PM ET over a Philadelphia TRACON Area C staffing constraint, then back to a GDP averaging 199 minutes (max 384) running to 1:59 AM. TEB followed the same staffing-driven path at 219 minutes average (max 417). LGA's GDP was canceled at 8:09 PM and JFK eased to departure delays. The NY Area hotline was deactivated at 10:01 PM.

The thunderstorms that put the New York metro into ground delay programs around 6 PM cleared faster than the staffing did. At 7:47 PM ET the FAA pulled Newark from its GDP into a ground stop (ADVZY 002), and the cause line did not say weather. It said "PHL AREA C STAFFING." The stop held 4,678 flights with an average delay of 151 minutes and a max of 300.

The ground stop ran to 9 PM, then EWR dropped back into a GDP (ADVZY 009) that got worse, not better. Average delay climbed from 133 minutes at 7:24 PM to 199 minutes (3 hours 19) by 8:10 PM, with a maximum of 384 minutes (6 hours 24), running until 1:59 AM ET. flightcheck.live's FAA NASSTATUS feed at 10:21 PM confirmed EWR still in a ground delay averaging 3 hours 19 minutes, plus 31-to-45-minute departure delays from residual weather. The program the last issue said would run "to midnight" is now running nearly two hours past it.

TEB (Teterboro) followed the same path. A ground stop at 7:42 PM (ADVZY 004) over the same PHL Area C staffing constraint, then a GDP (ADVZY 010) averaging 219 minutes (3 hours 39) with a maximum of 417 minutes (6 hours 57), running until 2:59 AM. 4,572 flights were caught in the ground stop.

The split within the New York metro is the story. LaGuardia's GDP was canceled at 8:09 PM (ADVZY 008); flightcheck showed only 15-to-29-minute departure delays by 10:21 PM. JFK eased from its 134-minute GDP to 46-minute-to-one-hour departure delays. The FAA's overnight operations plan (ADVZY 015, event 16/0200Z) still lists a JFK GDP until 12:59 AM, but flightcheck's live read showed no active ground delay program there. Two airports cleared. Two stayed stuck on a staffing constraint that outlasted the weather.

Why Newark and Teterboro while LaGuardia and JFK cleared? Newark's approach control lives in Philadelphia, not New York. The FAA moved EWR's radar approach sectors to PHL TRACON Area C in 2024 after chronic N90 staffing problems, a transfer meant to add resilience (FlyMag, July 12). Tonight it meant a single TRACON staffing gap held two airports in multi-hour delay programs after the thunderstorms that triggered the original GDPs had already moved off. The ops plan lists the PHL Area C staffing trigger until 11 PM ET, plus a D10 TRACON (Dallas) staffing trigger until 11 PM and an L30 (Las Vegas) trigger until 3 AM. Staffing, not weather, is what kept the NY GDPs alive into the morning hours.

The FAA's overnight ops plan (ADVZY 015) carries the Northeast into Thursday's forecast. LGA, JFK, PHL, EWR, IAD, DCA, and BWI are all listed as ground stop or delay program POSSIBLE after 3 PM ET (1900Z), with ATL POSSIBLE after 2 PM, MCO after 3 PM, and MIA/FLL after 4 PM. En route avoidance routes are forecast for ATL/CLT, DFW/DAL, N90/PHL, PHX, and DEN through the afternoon. The convective forecast has fizzled more days than it has fired this month, so treat POSSIBLE as a watch, not a warning.

Separately, SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 is scheduled to launch from Boca Chica (Starbase), Texas on July 16. The FAA's pre-mission advisory (ADVZY 001) warns that a mishap could activate debris response areas triggering ground stops, route closures, and airborne holding for up to 146 minutes across the Boca Chica-to-Piarco FIR corridor.

No New York airline waiver is active. Delta's EWR/HPN/JFK/LGA advisory from July 10 is no longer active, and no carrier has issued a new one for tonight's staffing-driven delays. United's South Texas thunderstorm waiver (AUS/IAH/SAT, rebook through July 17) remains the only active storm waiver. If you are flying into EWR or TEB tonight or tomorrow morning, check your carrier's travel-alerts page directly: JetBlue, Delta, United, American. Live FAA status is at nasstatus.faa.gov and fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.

Tracking: San Francisco's routine fog GDP (avg 42 minutes, ADVZY 003) runs until 2:59 AM ET. The NY Area hotline was deactivated at 10:01 PM (ADVZY 014), a signal the acute crisis-management phase has ended even as EWR and TEB GDPs continue. FlightAware counted 156 US cancellations and 6,054 US delays today as of 10:29 PM ET.