Newark Liberty International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is the oldest major commercial airport in the New York metropolitan area, having opened in 1928 — predating both LGA and JFK — and remains one of the three Port Authority airports serving a combined system that handled more than 140M passengers in 2024. EWR itself processed 49.1M in 2024, reclaiming its position as a top-twenty U.S. airport. It sits 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Newark and 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Midtown Manhattan at just 18 ft (5 m) elevation on reclaimed tidal marshland adjacent to Port Newark–Elizabeth, the largest container port on the U.S. East Coast. EWR is United Airlines' principal transatlantic gateway and one of the four largest hubs in the United Airlines system, sharing long-haul leadership with IAH. The carrier's Terminal C — a dedicated widebody operation reopened after a USD 2.7 billion reconstruction of Terminal A (2022) and ongoing rebuild of Terminal B — hosts United's entire EWR Polaris Lounge network and serves over 70 international destinations, more than any other airport in the New York region. The airport's three runways (4L/22R, 4R/22L, 11/29) operate under tight slot controls that the FAA reinstated in 2024 after chronic delays. EWR's defining constraint is airspace rather than pavement: it lies within the most congested terminal radar airspace in North America, shared with LGA, JFK, TEB, and HPN. The AirTrain Newark people mover, which links terminals to the Northeast Corridor rail station, is slated for a USD 2.05 billion full replacement delivering a faster cable-propelled system by 2028 — one of the largest airport access infrastructure projects under way in the U.S.