Shuttered Newark Airport runway to reopen 13 days ahead of schedule, Port Authority says

Finally, some good news out of Newark airport.

An aging runway at the problem-plagued New Jersey airport will reopen nearly two weeks ahead of schedule following a $121 million repair project ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Runway 4L-22R shut down on April 15 after the FAA deemed it unsafe — leaving just two open runways at busy Newark Liberty International Airport, the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey said in a press release on Friday.

The rehabilitated runway, due to reopen June 15, will resume regular operations on Monday.

“As other issues have arisen related to Newark Liberty’s capacity, the Port Authority took on the challenge to speed up the construction,” the agency’s Executive Director Rick Cotton said in statement.

“We are pleased to be able to return the runway nearly two weeks ahead of schedule without compromising safety and quality,” he said. “We continue to do all that we can to support USDOT and the FAA as they advance critically needed investments to remedy decades of underinvestment. …”

Airport runways are typically repaired every 10 years, but 4L-22R had gone 11 years without an update.

It was just one of a series of issues that have hampered operations at the airport.

Air traffic controller shortages, technology and communication glitches and the runway mishap forced the FAA to curb flights to the transportation hub, a nightmare for New York metro area travelers.

Earlier this week, Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, Newark’s anchor airline, said the mishaps have hit the company in the wallet with a drop in passenger bookings.

“People should book with confidence,” he said. “Now’s the time to buy.”

Meanwhile, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there’s more work to be done.

“With the runway completed, we’ll continue our work to harden the telecoms infrastructure and improving the staffing pipeline for the airspace,” he said in a statement Friday.