March 22, 2026, 10:01 a.m. ET
Many flights from the region’s three main airports faced delays or cancellations this Sunday, March 22, capping a week marked by hundreds of flight disruptions, primarily due to adverse weather.
Over recent weeks, U.S. airport delays have escalated, stemming from a congressional dispute in Washington regarding funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of the Transportation Security Administration responsible for passenger screening. TSA personnel, unpaid for several weeks, have increasingly been absent or slowed operations at numerous airports, leading to erratic security line wait times.
As of 9:30 a.m., FlightAware reported the following delays and cancellations for each airport. It’s important to note these figures are expected to rise over the course of the day.
- Newark Liberty International: 41 delays, eight cancellations.
- LaGuardia: 42 delays, eight cancellation
- John F. Kennedy: 73 delays, 11 cancellations
The narrative proceeds after the accompanying image gallery.
Concurrently nationwide, a total of 8,531 flights were delayed and 480 were cancelled.
Newark TSA Checkpoint Wait Times
On Sunday morning, wait times at Newark’s TSA checkpoints varied between 1 and 12 minutes, contingent on the specific terminal and gates, as indicated by the airport’s real-time tracking system.
Congressional Democrats have withheld funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (a division of DHS), demanding operational reforms following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during an immigration operation in Minneapolis.
To date, Republicans have opposed these proposals, along with Democratic legislative efforts aimed at funding the TSA and other Homeland Security components separately, while discussions surrounding ICE persist.
DHS reported that TSA employee absences surged to 10% last weekend, significantly higher than the typical operational rate of less than 2%.
The agency further noted that on March 18, certain airports experienced considerably higher no-show rates, including JFK at 29%, Atlanta at 32%, and New Orleans at 27%.
Portions of this report incorporate material from USA Today.