Newark Airport (EWR): The Complete Guide to Parking, Terminals & Getting to NYC

Newark Airport, officially Newark Liberty International (EWR), handled 47 million passengers in 2025, about a third of everyone who flew through the New York area’s three big airports, and for most visitors to New Jersey it’s the front door. It’s also an airport with a lot of moving parts in 2026: the AirTrain is being replaced (and swapped for buses on weekday mornings), the new Terminal A isn’t on the AirTrain line at all, NJ Transit’s fare rose in July, and the FAA has capped the airport’s flights since 2025. Here’s what you need to know: the three terminals, every way into New York and the rest of New Jersey, parking and pickups, security and lounges, delays, hotels, and when another airport makes more sense.

Quick answer: Newark Liberty is in Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, about 14 miles by road from Midtown Manhattan. The easiest way into New York is the AirTrain plus an NJ Transit train to Penn Station, $17.50 one way in September 2026 and about 30 minutes on the train; a taxi is $60 to $80 plus tolls and surcharges. United flies from Terminal C, Air Canada, American, Delta and JetBlue from the new Terminal A, and most other airlines from Terminal B.

Last updated September 24, 2026. Fares, fees, parking rates, hours, airline lists and schedules were checked on September 24, 2026, against the Port Authority’s Newark Airport pages, NJ Transit’s fare and schedule tools, the FAA, the TSA and the airlines’ and operators’ own websites, and every price is dated in the text. Where official pages disagree with each other (they often do here), we say so. Drive times are light-traffic routing estimates.

• Train to New York: $17.50 one way, AirTrain fee included (NJ Transit’s fare tool; its Newark Airport page and the Port Authority’s still show the old $17.25). Buy before you board.
• The AirTrain is free between terminals and $8.75 at the rail station. On weekdays from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., through November 13, 2026, buses replace it to the rail station, and it doesn’t reach the new Terminal A at all (a 15-minute walk or a free shuttle).
• Fewer trains this fall: from October 11 to November 14, 2026, NJ Transit runs reduced “Portal Cutover” schedules; airport trains keep running.
• Taxis charge flat fares of $60 to $80 to Manhattan, plus tolls and surcharges; the Newark Airport Express bus to Midtown is $23.50.
• Parking runs $35 to $70 a day drive-up, less if you book on the Port Authority’s site.
• Delays: the FAA caps Newark at 72 scheduled flights an hour through October 30, 2027, and a telecom failure grounded hundreds of flights on September 21, 2026.
• Gone or moved: Spirit Airlines shut down in May 2026, and Delta moved from Terminal B to Terminal A in 2023.

On this page: At a glance | Terminals | Into New York | AirTrain | Rest of New Jersey | Parking and rental cars | Security and lounges | Delays | Hotels | Other airports | History | What’s changed | What to skip | FAQ

Newark Airport at a Glance

What	The facts (September 2026)
Code	EWR (ICAO: KEWR)
Run by	The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which also runs JFK and LaGuardia
Where	Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, about 14 miles from Midtown Manhattan by road
Terminals	A (Air Canada, American, Delta, JetBlue, some United), B (most foreign and low-cost airlines), C (United)
Size	47.0 million passengers in 2025; 38 airlines; 3 runways and 110 gates
Biggest airline	United, with about 68% of passengers in 2025
Train to Manhattan	$17.50 one way to New York Penn Station, about 30 minutes on the train
Taxi to Manhattan	$60-$80 flat by zone, plus tolls, surcharges and tip
Parking, per 24 hours	$35 (P6 Economy) to $70 (Terminals B and C), less if prebooked
Flight cap	72 scheduled flights an hour, 6 a.m. to 10:59 p.m., through October 30, 2027
Help	(973) 961-6000, 24 hours; WhatsApp support; Information Centers in each terminal

The Three Terminals: Which One Is Yours

Newark has three terminals, A, B and C, and they’re far enough apart that going to the wrong one costs real time: Terminal A isn’t even on the AirTrain line. The quick rule is United in C (and some United flights in A), the big U.S. carriers plus Air Canada and JetBlue in A, and nearly everyone else, including almost all the foreign airlines, in B. The Port Authority’s airline directory lists 38 airlines in September 2026, but always check your booking, because some airlines depart from one terminal and arrive at another.

Terminal	Airlines (September 2026)	Gates	Opened
A	Air Canada, American, Delta, JetBlue (departures) and some United domestic flights	33	2023
B	More than 30 airlines, including Alaska, Allegiant, Breeze, British Airways, El Al, Emirates, Frontier, Lufthansa, Porter, SAS, Singapore Airlines, TAP and Turkish; JetBlue’s international arrivals	25	1973
C	United, domestic and international	52	1988

Two traps from older guides: Delta moved from Terminal B to Terminal A in August 2023, taking its Sky Club with it, and Spirit Airlines, which was Newark’s second-busiest airline in 2025 with 2.66 million passengers, shut down in May 2026 and no longer flies anywhere.

Terminal A

The new Terminal A opened to passengers on January 12, 2023, replacing the 1973 original (the old building survives as Building 4), and it’s the nicest place in the airport to wait for a plane. The $2.7 billion building is about a million square feet on three levels, roughly 20% bigger than the terminal it replaced, with 33 gates that any airline can use. Skytrax named it the world’s best new airport terminal in 2024, a month after giving it a 5-star rating. Unveiling ceremonies happened in November 2022, which is why a few pages, including one of the Port Authority’s own, say it “opened in 2022”; passengers first used it in January 2023.

Terminal A leans hard on New Jersey. Its art program opened with work by 29 local artists and large digital installations by Moment Factory showing New Jersey landmarks, and much of the food comes from New Jersey names: Bang Cookies and KitchenStep from Jersey City, Morristown’s Town Bar + Kitchen, Jersey & Co. Gelato, the New Jersey-rooted Felina Cucina and Playa Bowls, and the first retail cafe from local roaster W.B. Law Coffee. For souvenirs there’s Just Jersey and Shore Points Market, plus a checkout-free Hudson Nonstop. There are two sensory rooms for travelers who need a quiet, low-stimulation space, one before security and one just after it, and a prayer room after security with a chapel and foot-washing stations.

The one real flaw is access. The AirTrain’s “Terminal A” stop is a 15-minute walk from the terminal along a covered path, or a 5-minute ride on a free shuttle bus; the new AirTrain, due in 2030, will fix that. The terminal’s garage holds the Rental Car Center, about 2,700 public parking spaces and a rooftop solar array the Port Authority calls the largest at any U.S. airport. Terminal A has one main security checkpoint, with TSA PreCheck and CLEAR lanes.

Terminal B

Terminal B is the international terminal for almost every airline that isn’t United, and it’s the oldest of the three: it opened in 1973, with 25 gates (15 of them international) spread across three satellite buildings. It was designed for about 6.8 million passengers a year and handled about 11.5 million in 2025, which tells you most of what you need to know about the lines at check-in on a summer evening. Help is on the way, slowly: in May 2026 the Port Authority approved $75 million of near-term upgrades (seating, lighting, restrooms, escalators, elevators, jet bridges, air conditioning and baggage systems), the first phase of a three-year, $200 million program, so expect construction areas. A brand-new replacement terminal is planned for the mid-2030s.

The most useful thing to know about Terminal B is that security is split by gate: there are separate checkpoints for Gates B40-B49, B51-B57 and B60-B68, and you need the one for your gate. CLEAR is only at the B40-B49 checkpoint (4:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., closing at 6 p.m. on Saturdays), and the PreCheck lanes at the other two checkpoints were closed one September evening, so don’t assume PreCheck is open late. Before security there’s a food court with Smashburger, Panda Express, Starbucks, Zaro’s and Tony and Benny’s; after security there’s Vino Volo, the Stella Artois Bar & Lounge, Malone’s Fish Market, Jersey Reserve Coffee and duty-free shops. Terminal B also has the USO lounge for military families (Level 2 near Door 9, before security) and the airport’s Global Entry enrollment center.

Terminal C

Terminal C is United’s, and United is Newark: it carried 31.9 million of the airport’s 47 million passengers in 2025, about 68%. The terminal opened in 1988 as Continental Airlines’ hub (Continental merged with United in 2010) and has 52 gates, numbered C70 to C139. It’s long, so check your gate: from security, Gates C70-C74 are 1 to 3 minutes’ walk, C75-C123 are 4 to 7 minutes, and C125-C139 are 7 to 10.

The food is run by OTG, with nearly 60 places across more than 75,000 square feet, and MileagePlus members can pay with miles. The highlights include Abruzzo Italian Steakhouse, the Garden State Diner (at the airport for more than 30 years), SURF Bar in Jersey Shore fish-shack style, Tsukiji Fishroom, Melange Bakery with pastry chef Jacques Torres, Riviera from chef Alex Guarnaschelli, Victory Grille with its giant LED sports wall, and Caps Beer Garden with 48 beers. There are Sing for Hope pianos at Gates C74 and C123, a free children’s lending library at C104, a performance stage between C121 and C123 and, for United’s 100th anniversary in 2026, an aircraft fuselage exhibit on the airline’s history across from Gate C123.

Changing terminals

United runs a free airside shuttle between Gate A28 and Gate C71, so United passengers can switch between Terminals A and C without going back through security; it also drops off (only) at Terminal B’s B60-B68 gates in the afternoon and evening. Everyone else changes terminals on the free AirTrain, or the free bus to Terminal A, and goes through security again. If you’re connecting from an international flight, you’ll clear customs and recheck your bags first.

Getting Into New York City: Every Option, Ranked

Newark is closer to Midtown Manhattan than JFK is, about 14 miles by road on our routing estimate, and the Port Authority runs it along with JFK and LaGuardia, so plenty of New York trips start here. The catch is that the fastest-looking option, a cab, is at the mercy of the Holland or Lincoln Tunnel. Here’s how the choices compare, with fares as of September 2026:

Option	One-way cost	Time to Midtown	Best for
NJ Transit train to Penn Station	$17.50	24-33 minutes on the train, plus the AirTrain	Almost everyone
Newark Airport Express bus	$23.50 ($39.50 round trip)	About 50 minutes	East Midtown, Grand Central and Bryant Park
Taxi	$60-$80 flat, plus tolls, surcharges and tip	Depends on the tunnel	Groups of three or four with bags
Uber or Lyft	Varies by time and demand	Depends on the tunnel	Door-to-door, outside rush hour
Train to Newark Penn plus PATH	$15.65 ($12.40 + $3.25)	45-55 minutes to the World Trade Center	Lower Manhattan and Jersey City
Shared shuttle van	From about $39	Varies with stops	Hotel drop-off without a cab fare
Amtrak	Varies by train and date	Similar to NJ Transit	Travelers already booked on Amtrak
Bus 62 plus PATH	$5.15 ($1.90 + $3.25)	About an hour or more	The tightest budgets
Driving	Tunnel toll up to $16.79 with E-ZPass, plus $9 congestion toll	Depends on traffic	Almost nobody

1. NJ Transit train to New York Penn Station

$17.50 one way (September 2026), about 30 minutes on the train. This is the default for good reason. Take the AirTrain from your terminal to the Newark Liberty International Airport rail station (about 7 minutes from Terminal C, 11 from Terminal B and 20 from the Terminal A station), then catch any Northeast Corridor or North Jersey Coast Line train to New York Penn Station, a 24- to 33-minute ride. On a normal weekday NJ Transit runs 71 trains from the airport toward New York, from 4:50 a.m. to 1:43 a.m.; on weekends there are 59, starting at 6 a.m. There are no trains from about 1:45 to 4:50 a.m., so red-eye arrivals need a cab or a car.

The fare includes the $8.75 AirTrain fee, so buy one ticket, in the NJ Transit app or at the machines in the airport station, before you board; buying on the train costs $5 extra when a machine or agent was available. Children 5 to 11 pay half fare, up to three kids 4 and under ride free, and on weekends and holidays up to two children 5 to 11 ride free with a paying adult. One warning: NJ Transit’s own Newark Airport page and the Port Authority’s still print $17.25, which was the fare before the July 1, 2026 increase. The fare tool is right; the pages are behind.

This fall has two wrinkles. On weekdays from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., through November 13, 2026, shuttle buses replace the AirTrain between the terminals and the rail station while the Port Authority builds its new AirTrain, so allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes and follow the red-bannered signs. And from October 11 to November 14, NJ Transit runs special “Portal Cutover” schedules while Amtrak moves the last track onto the new Portal North Bridge: airport trains keep running, but weekdays drop to 56 trains toward New York, and NJ Transit suggests avoiding 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. if you can. Regular schedules return on November 15. At the station itself, the down escalator to Tracks 4 and 5 is out of service through the end of November; use the elevators.

Best for: anyone headed to Midtown, the West Side or anywhere near Penn Station, and anyone traveling light. Note that you can’t be dropped off at the airport rail station by car; it has no road access.

2. Newark Airport Express bus

$23.50 one way or $39.50 round trip, about 50 minutes. Coach USA’s Newark Airport Express is still running in 2026 (its timetable was revised in January) and it’s the easiest option if your hotel is on the East Side, because it goes where the train doesn’t: Grand Central (41st Street between Park and Lexington), Bryant Park (42nd Street and Fifth Avenue) and the Port Authority Bus Terminal (41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues). At the airport it boards outside the arrivals level at Terminal A Zone 13, Terminal B Zone 2 and Terminal C Zone 5, and one ticket is good for any scheduled departure. It’s a bus, so it sits in the same tunnel traffic a cab does.

Best for: East Midtown hotels, travelers with big bags who’d rather not climb onto a commuter train, and anyone who wants a seat without a transfer.

3. Taxi

$60 to $80 flat to Manhattan, plus extras. Newark’s airport taxis charge flat fares by zone: $60 to Lower Manhattan up to West 13th Street, $65 from West 14th to West 50th, $70 from West 51st to West 96th, $75 from West 97th to West 185th and $80 above that. On top come tolls, a $10 surcharge on trips to New York in rush hours (weekdays 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 8 p.m., weekends noon to 9 p.m.), $5 more for Manhattan’s East Side, a $2 airport access fee, up to $1 a bag, the $0.75 congestion charge and a tip, so a rush-hour ride to Midtown East can run past $100 before the tip. Seniors get 10% off the fare.

Use only the official stands, where a dispatcher assigns the cab and hands you a receipt: Terminal A Level 1 near Door 5, Terminal B Level 2 near Door 8 or Level 1 near Door 2, and Terminal C Level 1 near Door 6. The Port Authority warns that people in the terminals offering rides or help with bags without an official uniform may be unlicensed. Cabs take four passengers, five in a minivan.

Best for: three or four people with luggage, late-night arrivals after the trains stop, and destinations far from Penn Station.

4. Uber or Lyft

Price varies. Ride-app pickups are in designated areas, not at the curb: at Terminal A on the arrivals level directly across the street, at Terminal B along the arrivals-level frontage, and at Terminal C on Level 3 of the Terminal C garage, reached by the pedestrian bridge (a 2026 change; older guides still say curbside). Drop-offs are at the terminal curbs. Trips into Manhattan’s congestion zone carry a $1.50 per-trip charge, and fares swing with the time of day and demand, so compare the app price with the taxi flat fare before you book.

Best for: door-to-door rides outside rush hour, and trips to parts of New Jersey where the flat taxi fares don’t apply.

5. NJ Transit to Newark Penn, then PATH

$15.65 ($12.40 plus $3.25), about 45 to 55 minutes to the World Trade Center. For Lower Manhattan or Jersey City, skip Penn Station: take NJ Transit one stop, 6 to 8 minutes, to Newark Penn Station and switch to the PATH. The Newark-World Trade Center line stops at Harrison, Journal Square, Grove Street and Exchange Place before the WTC; change at Journal Square or Grove Street for trains to 33rd Street. PATH costs $3.25 a ride (since May 3, 2026) and takes only TAPP cards and contactless bank cards or phones: MetroCards and SmartLink cards stopped working on September 1, 2026, and MTA OMNY cards don’t work either. The PATH fare is scheduled to rise to $3.50 on January 3, 2027.

Best for: the Financial District, Tribeca, Jersey City and Hoboken.

6. Shared shuttle vans

From about $39 per person. The Port Authority’s authorized shared-ride operators include GO Airlink NYC, which runs shuttles to Manhattan from about $39 per person each way including taxes and airport fees; you book ahead and can cancel up to 4 hours before pickup. Uber Shuttle also runs two fixed routes from Terminals B and C (not Terminal A) to Manhattan, stopping at Penn Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Bryant Park, Grand Central and Hudson Yards, with seats booked up to three days ahead in the Uber app and a $5 fee if you miss it. Shared vans make several stops, so allow extra time.

Best for: solo travelers heading to a Midtown hotel who don’t want to haul bags through Penn Station.

7. Amtrak

Fares vary. Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and a few Keystone trains stop at the Newark Airport station, but not every train does, and fares depend on the train and the date. The ticket includes the AirTrain fare (scan the barcode at the AirTrain gate), and you need a ticket before you board. Amtrak is trimming service from October 10 to November 15, 2026, during the Portal Bridge work, including Keystone trains between Philadelphia and New York (24 weekday trains down to 10).

Best for: travelers already booked through to Philadelphia, Washington or Boston, who can ride straight from the airport.

8. NJ Transit bus 62, then PATH

$5.15 ($1.90 plus $3.25). The cheapest way into New York takes the longest. NJ Transit buses 62 and 67 stop right at the terminals and run to Newark Penn Station for $1.90 (22 to 30 minutes; the fare boxes want exact change), where you pick up PATH. At Newark Penn the airport buses use the Raymond Boulevard bus lanes. It works, but with bags and a transfer it’s a slog, and you’ll spend an hour or more getting to Lower Manhattan.

Best for: backpackers and anyone for whom $12 is worth an extra half hour.

9. Driving yourself

Tolls and parking make it the worst deal. In light traffic it’s about 25 minutes from Newark Airport to Times Square by our routing estimate, but that almost never happens at rush hour. Eastbound, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels cost $16.79 at peak and $14.79 off-peak with a New York or New Jersey E-ZPass, or $23.30 by mail; all Port Authority crossings are cashless. Then Manhattan’s congestion toll adds $9 once a day at peak with E-ZPass ($2.25 overnight), less a crossing credit of up to $3 for tunnel users, before you’ve paid to park. If you’re picking up a rental car at the airport for a New Jersey trip, great; for a Manhattan stay, leave it.

Best for: travelers continuing to parts of New York City the trains don’t reach, with somewhere to park at the other end.

The AirTrain: Free Between Terminals, $8.75 to the Train

AirTrain Newark is the elevated monorail that links the terminals with parking, the rental cars, the hotel shuttles and the rail station, and it’s the thing most first-timers get wrong. Here’s how it works in 2026:

• It’s free inside the airport. Rides between the terminals, the P4 parking garage, the P3 hotel-shuttle station and the Terminal A station, which serves the rental cars, cost nothing. You pay only when you pass the fare gates at the Newark Liberty International Airport rail station: $8.75 one way, which is already included in NJ Transit and Amtrak tickets to or from the airport.
• It runs all night. Trains come every 3 to 5 minutes from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. and about every 15 minutes overnight.
• The stops, in order: the Airport Train Station (NJ Transit and Amtrak), P4 (the daily parking garage), Terminal C, Terminal B, P3 (hotel and off-airport shuttles) and the Terminal A station. Figure on about 7 minutes from the rail station to Terminal C, 11 to Terminal B and 20 to the Terminal A station.
• It doesn’t reach the new Terminal A. The Terminal A station is a 15-minute walk from the terminal along a covered path, or a 5-minute ride on a free shuttle bus that runs about every 5 minutes. Older guides that say the AirTrain stops at every terminal are out of date.
• Paying without a train ticket: tap a contactless card or phone at the fare gate, or buy the fare in the NJ Transit app, on its website or at the station machines.

The weekday bus replacement

The monorail is 30 years old, and the Port Authority is building a $3.5 billion replacement: a 2.5-mile automated line with three new stations, under construction since October 2025 and due to carry passengers in 2030. To make room for the work, shuttle buses have replaced the AirTrain between the rail station and the rest of the airport on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. since January 15, 2026, apart from a summer break. The current phase runs through Friday, November 13, 2026. A pause from October 30 to mid-January was planned back in January, but the Port Authority’s current advisory simply runs the buses through November 13, and nothing has been announced for the period after that, although more outages are planned in 2027 and 2028.

During those hours the buses run from the rail station to Terminals A, B and C, the rental cars and P4; allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes, and look for “AirTrain Construction Partial Outage” signs with a red banner and staff in red coats. The AirTrain itself keeps running between the terminals, and service is normal on weekends. Separately, the AirTrain shuts down overnight for maintenance on some Saturday nights, with free buses covering every stop; the Port Authority’s alerts page lists the dates.

From the Airport to the Rest of New Jersey (and Philadelphia)

Plenty of Newark arrivals never go near Manhattan. The airport’s rail station sits on the Northeast Corridor, which runs south through Elizabeth, New Brunswick and Princeton Junction to Trenton, and North Jersey Coast Line trains stop there too, heading for the Shore. Riders bound for other North Jersey lines change at Secaucus Junction; Raritan Valley Line riders change at Newark Penn Station. Here’s how to reach the places visitors ask about most, with NJ Transit fares from its fare tool in September 2026 and drive times from our light-traffic routing estimates:

Destination	By public transit (one way)	Taxi estimate	Drive
Downtown Newark	Train to Newark Penn, $12.40 (6-8 min), or bus 62, $1.90	$30-$40	15 min
Jersey City	Train to Newark Penn, then PATH: $15.65	$56	20 min
Hoboken	Train via Secaucus, $17.50, or Newark Penn plus PATH	$56	25 min
MetLife Stadium	No direct transit from the airport	$56	30 min
New Brunswick	Train, $20.55 (21-38 min)	$89	30 min
Princeton	Train to Princeton Junction, $23.05, or to Princeton via the shuttle train, $25.15	Not published	1 hr
Trenton	Train, $23.90 (about 1 hr to 1 hr 20 min)	Not published	1 hr 5 min
Long Branch and Asbury Park	North Jersey Coast Line, $23.35 (Asbury Park usually with a change at Long Branch)	Not published	1 hr
Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head	Train with a change at Long Branch, $23.90 (about 1 hr 45 min to 2 hr 15 min)	Not published	1 hr 5 min
Freehold and Lakewood	NJ Transit bus 67 from the terminals: $13.05 to Freehold, $16.70 to Lakewood	Not published	50 min to Freehold, 1 hr 10 min to Lakewood
Long Beach Island	No practical transit	Not published	1 hr 50 min
Atlantic City	Bus 62 or the train to Newark Penn, then NJ Transit bus 319	Not published	2 hr 20 min
Cape May	No practical transit; fly into Philadelphia or Atlantic City instead	Not published	2 hr 55 min
Philadelphia	NJ Transit to Trenton, then SEPTA (about $35, 2 to nearly 3 hours), or Amtrak	Not published	About 1 hr 50 min

Jersey City and Hoboken

For Jersey City, the train to Newark Penn Station plus the PATH is the easy answer: PATH’s Newark line stops at Journal Square, Grove Street and Exchange Place. Hoboken takes one more step. Either ride NJ Transit to Secaucus Junction and change for Hoboken ($17.50 all in, though the connections make it anywhere from half an hour to well over an hour), or take PATH from Newark Penn and change at Journal Square. With luggage and two or three people, the $56 taxi estimate starts to look reasonable. For MetLife Stadium there’s no direct transit from the airport; a cab (about $56 by the Port Authority’s estimate) or a rideshare is simplest, and event-day traffic around the Meadowlands is its own adventure.

Princeton, New Brunswick and Trenton

Northeast Corridor trains from the airport run straight down the spine of the state. New Brunswick (for Rutgers) is $20.55 and 21 to 38 minutes; Princeton Junction is $23.05 and typically 40 to 60 minutes; and the station in Princeton itself is $25.15, with a change at Princeton Junction to the little shuttle train, which can stretch the trip past an hour depending on the connection. Trenton is $23.90 and an hour to an hour and 20 minutes on a direct train. Driving to Princeton takes about an hour in light traffic, and longer at rush hour.

The Jersey Shore

North Jersey Coast Line trains stop at the airport, so you can ride from the terminal to the northern Shore without going near New York: $23.35 to Long Branch (most trips direct, about 66 to 88 minutes) or Asbury Park (usually with a change at Long Branch), and $23.90 to Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head with a change at Long Branch. From October 11 to 25, 2026, buses replace trains between Manasquan and Bay Head during bridge work in Brielle. NJ Transit bus 67 runs from the terminals to Freehold and Lakewood, handy for western Monmouth and Ocean counties. For Long Beach Island, the southern Shore and Cape May, you’ll want a car, or a flight into Philadelphia or Atlantic City instead; our section on the other airports explains when that makes sense.

Atlantic City

Newark is 2 hours 20 minutes from Atlantic City by car in light traffic, which is why flying into Philadelphia or Atlantic City International often makes more sense. Without a car, NJ Transit’s route 319 express bus from New York to Atlantic City stops at Newark Penn Station, one short hop from the airport by train or bus 62.

Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley

NJ Transit’s trip planner prices the airport-to-Philadelphia trip, by NJ Transit to Trenton and SEPTA from there, at about $35 and 2 to nearly 3 hours; Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Keystone trains that stop at the airport go direct, for a variable fare (with fewer Keystone trains running from October 10 to November 15, 2026). Trans-Bridge Lines runs scheduled buses from all three terminals to Clinton, New Jersey, and to Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton in Pennsylvania.

Parking, Pickups and Rental Cars

Parking at Newark is run by the Port Authority, and the single most useful thing to know is that booking ahead on its official site, parking.newarkairport.com, is cheaper than driving up. Here are the 24-hour maximums as of September 2026:

Lot	Where	Drive-up, per 24 hours	Prebooked, from
Terminal A short-term garage	Next to Terminal A	$65	$50
Terminals B and C short-term	Next to Terminals B and C	$70	$50
P4 Daily Parking garage	On the AirTrain line	$60	$40
P6 Economy	Shuttle to all terminals	$35	$30

A few details that save money and hassle:

• Short stops: the first half hour costs $5.25 in the short-term lots and $4.25 in the P4 garage.
• Booking: reserve at least 3 hours and up to a year ahead, for stays of 1 hour to 30 days, with no booking fee. You can arrive up to 2 hours before your booked time and change the booking up to an hour before you enter. Premium spaces closest to the terminals can only be reserved online.
• Getting to the plane: P4 is on the AirTrain; P6 Economy has a free shuttle every 10 minutes or so, around the clock, to all three terminals. For the return trip, catch it on Level 1 of your terminal.
• Paying: credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, or E-ZPass Plus in the purple lanes (up to $20 from your E-ZPass balance, the rest charged to your linked card).
• Accessible parking: vehicles with state-issued disability plates or placards pay a $35 daily maximum in the short-term lots, for stays of at least 4.5 hours; press HELP at the exit so an attendant can apply the rate.
• Long stays: if you’ll be parked more than 30 days, you must register with the parking operator on arrival, or the car can be towed.
• EV charging: the Terminal A garage has 162 Level 2 charging ports and P4 has 13; fast chargers are at the cell phone lot (8 ports) and the Exxon station on Lindbergh Road (8 Tesla ports). Parking fees apply on top.
• Off-airport lots: the Port Authority tells drivers to park only on airport property or with its authorized off-airport operators, which include several airport hotels, The Parking Spot and other private lots.
• Roadwork: through November 6, 2026, access to P4 from southbound Brewster Road is detoured, and the I-78 entrance near P4 is closed.

Picking someone up

Drivers can’t wait at the terminal curbs, and unattended cars get towed. Wait instead in the free Cell Phone Lot, next to the P4 garage near the airport entrance and less than five minutes from every terminal, with more than 100 spaces and portable restrooms; put “Newark Cell Phone Lot” into your GPS. Taxis wait at official stands (Terminal A Level 1 near Door 5; Terminal B Level 2 near Door 8 or Level 1 near Door 2; Terminal C Level 1 near Door 6), and Uber and Lyft pick up across the street from Terminal A’s arrivals level, on Terminal B’s arrivals frontage and on Level 3 of the Terminal C garage. One more trap: the airport rail station has no road access, so nobody can drop you off or pick you up there.

Rental cars

All the on-airport rental companies share the Rental Car Center on Levels 1 to 3 of the Terminal A garage: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Drivo, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt and Thrifty. From Terminal A you walk; from Terminals B and C, ride the AirTrain to the Terminal A station and walk about 5 minutes through a covered corridor. Older guides that send you to AirTrain Station P3 for rental cars are out of date; P3 is now for hotel and off-airport shuttles. To return a car, set your GPS to “Terminal A Parking Newark”; there are gas stations within two miles.

Know the toll rules before you drive off. Every Port Authority bridge and tunnel is cashless, and rental companies may add administrative fees to tolls charged to their E-ZPass tags. If you bring your own E-ZPass, don’t add the rental’s plate to your account. And in New Jersey, you don’t pump your own gas: an attendant does it, by law.

Security, Lounges, Food and Services

Security and ID

How early should you get to Newark? The TSA won’t give a number: it tells travelers to check with their airline, because times vary by airport and date, and to leave room for parking, check-in and screening. The Port Authority notes that most airlines open check-in 3 to 4 hours before departure and close it 45 to 60 minutes before, and it posts live security wait times for each checkpoint on the Departures page of newarkairport.com, which is worth a look before you leave home. Terminals A and C each have one main checkpoint; Terminal B has three, one per gate group, so go to the one for your gate.

• TSA PreCheck lanes are in all three terminals (though some Terminal B lanes close in the evening), and there’s a PreCheck enrollment office in Terminal C.
• CLEAR lanes are at the Terminal A and C checkpoints and, in Terminal B, only at Gates B40-B49.
• REAL ID has been enforced since May 7, 2025: domestic flyers need a REAL ID-compliant license or another accepted ID such as a passport. Without one, the TSA’s ConfirmID option costs $45 and doesn’t guarantee you’ll be cleared.
• Coming home from abroad: Newark takes Mobile Passport Control, the free Customs and Border Protection app, for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, Canadian visitors and returning Visa Waiver travelers with an approved ESTA. The Global Entry enrollment center is in Terminal B.
• Help at screening: request TSA Cares assistance at least 72 hours ahead; wheelchairs and other airport assistance are booked through your airline. Free Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyards are available at the Information Centers.

Lounges

Newark’s lounges are almost all airline lounges, and if you’re counting on a credit-card lounge, lower your expectations: Priority Pass lists no lounges here in 2026, only Minute Suites (private rooms for napping or working, in Terminal C near Gates C124 and C125) and the Be Relax Spa near Gate A7. There’s no Chase or Capital One lounge, and the American Express Centurion Lounge promised for Terminal A was still listed as “coming soon” in late September 2026.

Terminal	Lounge	Where and when
A	American Airlines Admirals Club	Mezzanine across from Gate A8, daily 4 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
A	Delta Sky Club	Near Gate A8, 5 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. (to 6:30 p.m. Saturdays)
A	United Club	Near Gates A26-A27, per the Port Authority’s directory
B	SAS Lounge	By Gate B60; SAS and SkyTeam business class and top elites, and SAS travelers without lounge access can buy entry ($60 online, $65 within 3 hours of departure)
B	Lufthansa Senator and Business Lounge	Near Gate B68; the Port Authority says paid entry is sold at the door when space allows
B	British Airways Galleries Lounge	Near Gate B51; BA’s own page appeared to show it closed for refurbishment until summer 2027, so check before you count on it
C	United Clubs	Near Gates C74 and C123 (the C123 club, about 30,000 square feet, has showers), per the Port Authority’s directory
C	United Polaris Lounge	Near Gate C120, for long-haul international business class

Food, shops and prices

Each terminal’s food is covered in the terminal sections above; the short version is that Terminal C has the most choice, Terminal A has the most New Jersey flavor, and Terminal B is fine but dated. Two money notes apply everywhere. Under the Port Authority’s “We Value You” program, participating shops and restaurants sell lower-priced items, including $2 bottled water, and airport prices are capped at 15% above comparable street prices; look for the logo. And don’t be surprised by a line on restaurant receipts for an “Employee Benefits and Retention Surcharge” of up to 3%, which the Port Authority allows at its airports; it isn’t a tip or a tax.

Wi-Fi, help and lost property

• Wi-Fi is free on the “_Free EWR WiFi” network.
• Help: Airport Customer Experience Specialists in red uniforms staff the Information Centers in each terminal’s arrivals area; the airport’s 24-hour customer line is (973) 961-6000, and WhatsApp support runs 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. For emergencies, call the Port Authority Police at (973) 961-6666.
• Maps: the interactive map at maps.newarkairport.com shows gates, walking times, AirTrain stations, food and the taxi and ride-app zones. The Port Authority points travelers to the map, WhatsApp and airline apps rather than an airport app.
• Families and pets: every terminal has service-animal relief areas, indoors and out, and there are lactation rooms and pods, family restrooms and prayer and meditation rooms.
• Lost something? Items left in the terminals, passports included, go through the airport’s online lost-and-found office; items left at a TSA checkpoint have their own TSA form, and anything left on a plane is the airline’s to find.

Delays at Newark Airport: Flight Caps, Outages and How to Check

Newark has a reputation for delays, and it earned a lot of it in 2025. The short version of what happened, and where things stand in September 2026:

Why Newark is capped at 72 flights an hour

In July 2024 the FAA moved control of Newark’s approach and departure airspace from its New York facility to the Philadelphia TRACON, the radar center that now guides planes in and out. The move exposed two weak spots: too few certified controllers, and radar data that still travels from New York to Philadelphia over telecom lines. In spring 2025 those lines failed repeatedly. On April 28, 2025, telecom and equipment problems made the FAA slow Newark’s arrivals and departures; on May 9, controllers lost radar and communications for about 90 seconds before dawn; and there were shorter failures on May 11 and May 19. At the same time, the Port Authority was rebuilding Runway 4L-22R, Newark’s longest (11,000 feet), which closed around the clock from April 15 and reopened on June 2, 2025, 13 days early. Periodic overnight weekday closures of that runway have continued into 2026.

The FAA’s answer was a cap on scheduled flights. It started in May 2025 and now allows 36 arrivals and 36 departures an hour, 72 in all, from 6 a.m. to 10:59 p.m.; before 2025, Newark’s scheduling target was 77 an hour. In June 2026 the FAA extended the cap through October 30, 2027, and it says it doesn’t expect to approve new scheduled flights at Newark while the cap is in force, encouraging airlines to use nearby airports instead. The staffing numbers explain why: as of June 2026, the Philadelphia team that handles Newark had 28 certified controllers against a target of 46, up from 22 in September 2025, and the FAA doesn’t expect to reach its target before the end of the summer 2027 season. Passenger traffic fell accordingly, from about 49 million in 2024 to 47 million in 2025, which the Port Authority put down to the runway work and the FAA limits.

The equipment fixes, and the September 21, 2026 outage

The FAA has been rebuilding the plumbing. On July 3, 2025, it switched to a new fiber-optic network between New York and Philadelphia with two separate paths, and it added a temporary satellite backup. In August 2026 it unveiled a new surface radar at Newark that tracks planes and vehicles on runways and taxiways in any visibility, said 90% of the airport’s copper wiring had been replaced with fiber, and promised new controller displays, voice switches and a new long-range radar by the end of summer 2027.

Redundancy only helps if both lines survive. On Monday, September 21, 2026, according to news reports, the primary telecom circuit serving the Philadelphia radar center failed while its backup fiber line had been cut at a New Jersey rail construction site. The FAA stopped departures to Newark, Teterboro and Philadelphia from about 10 a.m., added JFK and LaGuardia around 1 p.m., and more than 600 Newark flights were canceled before the lines were repaired that evening, with more delays the next day. An FAA statement on the cause or duration hadn’t appeared by September 24, so treat the details as the news of record.

How often Newark runs late

Better than its reputation, lately, though not great. Federal on-time statistics for the big U.S. airlines show 77% of Newark departures and 75% of arrivals on time from August 2025 to July 2026, with 3.13% of flights canceled; that ranked Newark 7th of the 30 major U.S. airports for on-time departures but 22nd for arrivals and 27th for cancellations. The swing from 2025 is real: in May 2025, during the outages and runway closure, 28% of Newark departures left 15 minutes late or more, and in May 2026 only 13% did, better than the national 22%. Summer still bites (25% of departures late in July 2026, slightly better than the national 29%).

Weather is the biggest single cause. The FAA says weather caused about 74% of the delays of more than 15 minutes that rippled through the system from 2017 to 2023, and that Newark and LaGuardia together had the most weather delays of any U.S. airports in 2022. It isn’t only summer thunderstorms: in 2022 the New York airports’ weather delays peaked in November, March and October, while total delays peaked in May.

How to check before you go

• Your airline’s app is the only source for your own flight’s delay, rebooking and waivers; sign up for its alerts.
• The FAA’s airport status site (fly.faa.gov, which now opens nasstatus.faa.gov) shows ground stops and ground delay programs at Newark with the average and maximum delays. On one evening in September 2026, it showed a Newark delay program averaging 35 minutes for traffic volume.
• The Port Authority posts departures, arrivals, security wait times and alerts on newarkairport.com, sends free alerts if you sign up, and answers questions on WhatsApp.

If you have a choice, give yourself slack: a long layover rather than a tight one, and on a day with a ground delay program at Newark, it can be worth asking your airline about a flight from Philadelphia, Trenton-Mercer or another nearby airport.

Hotels at and Near the Airport

For an early flight or a late arrival, a night by the airport beats a 5 a.m. alarm in Manhattan. Only one hotel is actually on airport property, the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott, and the rest sit along Routes 1 and 9 and in Elizabeth, a few minutes away by free shuttle. The rule that trips people up: every off-airport hotel shuttle now picks up at AirTrain Station P3, not at the terminal curbs. Ride the free AirTrain to P3 and find your hotel’s zone; the Port Authority assigns each hotel to one of three pickup zones, and a few hotels’ own pages give a different zone than the Port Authority does, so read the signs at P3. Crowne Plaza says its pickup moved to P3 on November 4, 2025, and older guides still describe curbside pickups.

These hotels confirmed a free airport shuttle on their own brand pages in 2026 (we don’t quote room rates, which change daily):

Hotel	Address	Shuttle, per the hotel
Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott	1 Hotel Road, Newark (on airport property)	Free, daily, to and from all terminals
Courtyard Newark Liberty International Airport	600 U.S. 1 & 9, Newark	Free, 24 hours
Hampton Inn Newark Airport	450 Route 1 and 9 South, Newark	Free, every 30 minutes, 24 hours
DoubleTree by Hilton Newark Airport	128 Frontage Road, Newark (about 0.6 miles away)	Free; confirm the pickup point, since its page and the Port Authority’s disagree
Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel	1000 Spring Street, Elizabeth	Free, every 30 minutes, 24 hours
Crowne Plaza Newark Airport	901 Spring Street, Elizabeth	Free, every 30 minutes, 24 hours
Embassy Suites by Hilton Newark Airport	95 International Blvd., Elizabeth	Free to the airport; paid shuttle to the Cape Liberty cruise port
Residence Inn Newark Elizabeth/Liberty International Airport	83 International Blvd., Elizabeth	Free, scheduled; rooms have kitchens

A few more hotels appear on the Port Authority’s shuttle list, including the Hilton Newark Airport; confirm shuttle service with the hotel itself before you rely on it. Some airport hotels, including the Marriott, the Renaissance, the Crowne Plaza and the Hilton, are also authorized off-airport parking operators, which makes a park-and-fly package worth asking about. The Marriott, the Courtyard and the Crowne Plaza say they don’t run shuttles to JFK or LaGuardia. If you’re flying out early from Terminal A, remember the extra step: the AirTrain doesn’t reach it, so allow time for the walk or the free bus from the Terminal A station.

New Jersey’s Other Airports, and When to Fly Into Philadelphia

Newark is the obvious choice for North Jersey and New York, but it’s a long drive from the southern half of the state, where Philadelphia International is usually closer. Two small New Jersey airports, Atlantic City and Trenton-Mercer, fill in with low-cost flights, mostly to Florida and the Carolinas. Here’s the short version, with drive times from our light-traffic routing estimates:

Airport	Airlines (September 2026)	Best for	Drive from the airport
Newark Liberty (EWR)	38 airlines, led by United	New York City, North Jersey, the northern Shore	Asbury Park 1 hr; Princeton 1 hr
Philadelphia International (PHL)	Many airlines, domestic and international	Philadelphia, South Jersey, Atlantic City, Cape May	Atlantic City 1 hr 25 min; Cape May 2 hr
Atlantic City International (ACY)	Allegiant and Breeze, plus American by bus to PHL	Atlantic City and the southern Shore, on its Florida and Carolina routes	Atlantic City about 16 miles; Ocean City 50 min; Cape May 1 hr 15 min
Trenton-Mercer (TTN)	Frontier, Allegiant and Breeze, plus American by bus to PHL	Princeton, Trenton and Bucks County, on its Florida and Carolina routes	Princeton 25 min; Asbury Park 1 hr 10 min

Atlantic City International (ACY)

Atlantic City’s airport sits in Egg Harbor Township, about 16 miles from the Boardwalk by road, on an airfield it shares with the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing and a Coast Guard air station; the South Jersey Transportation Authority runs the terminal. Its airlines in September 2026 are Allegiant, flying to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando-Sanford, Punta Gorda, St. Pete-Clearwater and Myrtle Beach, and Breeze, which sells flights to Charleston, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Tampa, Vero Beach and West Palm Beach. American Airlines’ presence is a Landline motorcoach: you check bags and clear security at ACY, then ride a bus straight to American’s gates at Philadelphia International. Spirit is gone, because the airline shut down in May 2026, although a stale line on the airport’s own homepage still mentions it.

The terminal is small and easy: it’s open 24 hours, with airlines, TSA and restaurants opening at 3:30 a.m., free Wi-Fi and TSA PreCheck. Parking is cashless: $15 a day in the garage, $22 short-term and $12 economy, as of September 2026. Getting into Atlantic City means a taxi, Uber or Lyft, a rental car (Avis, Enterprise and Budget) or a Turo pickup; the airport lists no public bus into town, and the AC Jitney stopped serving the airport at the end of 2020. One more trap: if you’re booking a Breeze flight to West Palm Beach, the airport there was renamed in July 2026 and now uses the code DJT, not PBI.

Trenton-Mercer (TTN)

Mercer County’s airport, in Ewing about 25 minutes from Princeton by car, is the easy-in, easy-out option for central New Jersey, if your route is on its short list. Frontier has flown here since 2012 and lists nonstops to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers and Tampa, some of them seasonal. Allegiant arrived in February 2026 with flights to Fort Lauderdale, Punta Gorda and St. Pete-Clearwater, adding Orlando-Sanford from October 2, 2026. Breeze added Trenton in 2026, starting with Charleston in September, according to news reports, and its own site also sells Vero Beach, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale (the last via Charleston without a change of plane). American runs a Landline motorcoach from TTN to its Philadelphia gates, three times a day each way.

The terminal is small and dated, built in 1975, and older articles describing a new terminal under construction were premature: the replacement, about 125,000 square feet with four gates, was still in design and permitting in 2026. The county lists parking at $9 or $10 a day in the long-term lots and $2 an hour for short-term parking. Without a car, a taxi to West Trenton station runs about $8 and to the Trenton Transit Center about $35, by the airport’s estimates, and NJ Transit bus 608 links the airport with West Trenton, Hamilton and the Trenton Transit Center. The control tower closes at 10 p.m., and there’s a voluntary nighttime curfew from midnight to 6 a.m.

Philadelphia International (PHL)

For Cape May, Wildwood, Ocean City, Atlantic City or anywhere in the Philadelphia suburbs of South Jersey, PHL is usually the better airport: Atlantic City is about 1 hour 25 minutes away by car and Cape May about 2 hours, against 2 hours 20 minutes and nearly 3 hours from Newark. Without a car, SEPTA’s Airport Line runs every 30 minutes to Center City ($6.75 with a SEPTA Key card or $8.75 paid on board, as of September 2026). At 30th Street Station it connects with NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Rail Line, and from Jefferson Station you can walk to PATCO’s 8th and Market stop for trains to Lindenwold, where NJ Transit trains and buses head for the Shore.

JFK, LaGuardia and connecting between airports

JFK and LaGuardia are Port Authority airports like Newark, and sometimes the fare or the route pushes you there. Just don’t plan a connection between them and Newark: the Port Authority estimates a taxi takes 60 to 100 minutes to JFK (about $160) and 60 to 90 minutes to LaGuardia (about $110), and you’ll reclaim your bags, recheck them and clear security again.

A Short History of Newark Airport

The City of Newark built its airport on 68 acres of marshland and opened it on October 1, 1928, and within a few years it was the busiest commercial airport in the world. The Port Authority, which runs it today, credits Newark with the country’s first paved runway, first lighted runway, first air traffic control tower and first airport weather station. The 1935 Central Terminal Building, dedicated by Amelia Earhart, is now a National Historic Landmark and serves as the Port Authority’s administration building. The Army Air Corps ran the airport during World War II, and the Port Authority took it over on March 22, 1948; in 2019 it extended its lease with the city through 2075.

The airport you use today took shape in stages. The oval of Terminals A and B opened in 1973, and Terminal C followed in 1988 as the hub of Continental Airlines, which merged with United in 2010. The monorail began running between the terminals and the parking lots in 1996 and was extended to the Northeast Corridor rail station in 2001, when it became AirTrain Newark. In 2002 the airport was renamed Newark Liberty International Airport to honor the people who died on September 11, 2001, and in January 2023 the new Terminal A replaced the 1973 original. The busiest year on record so far was 2023, with 49.1 million passengers; in 2025 Newark handled 47.0 million, 15.4 million of them international (a record), making it the second-busiest Port Authority airport after JFK and ahead of LaGuardia.

Two small puzzles visitors ask about. The airport lies in both Newark and Elizabeth, in Essex and Union counties, hemmed in by the New Jersey Turnpike, I-78 and U.S. Routes 1 and 9. And the code is EWR, not something starting with N; the usual explanation is that U.S. codes beginning with N are reserved for the Navy, which the FAA’s rules on location identifiers do confirm, though no official page ties that rule to Newark specifically.

What’s Changed at Newark Airport in 2025 and 2026

Newark changes faster than the guides written about it. All of these were current in late September 2026:

Topic	What changed	Status in September 2026
Train fare to New York	Rose to $17.50 with NJ Transit’s July 1, 2026 increase; official airport pages still say $17.25	Next 3% increase due July 1, 2027
AirTrain	Buses replace it to the rail station on weekdays, 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the planned October 30 pause was dropped	Through November 13, 2026; the new AirTrain is due in 2030
NJ Transit schedules	Reduced “Portal Cutover” timetables while the Portal North Bridge is finished	October 11 to November 14, 2026
PATH	$3.25 a ride since May 3, 2026; MetroCards and SmartLink stopped working September 1	$3.50 scheduled from January 3, 2027
Ride-app pickups	Terminal C pickups moved from the curb to Level 3 of the garage	In effect
Hotel shuttles	All moved to AirTrain Station P3	In effect
Rental cars	Consolidated in the Terminal A garage, not at P3	In effect
Airlines	Spirit shut down in May 2026; Delta moved to Terminal A in 2023	38 airlines listed
Flight cap	72 scheduled flights an hour, extended in June 2026	Through October 30, 2027
Runway 4L-22R	Rebuilt from April to June 2025	Some overnight weekday closures continue
Terminal B	$75 million of upgrades approved in May 2026; replacement planned	Construction areas likely; new terminal in the mid-2030s
Lounges	Amex Centurion Lounge announced for Terminal A	Still “coming soon”
ID rules	REAL ID enforced since May 7, 2025	$45 TSA ConfirmID if you don’t have one
Trenton-Mercer	Allegiant (February 2026) and Breeze (September 2026) added	New terminal still in design

What to Skip

• A cab to Midtown at rush hour. The train takes about 30 minutes from the airport station and costs $17.50; a rush-hour taxi can pass $100 before the tip and still sit in tunnel traffic.
• Getting dropped off at the airport train station. It has no road access. Drivers drop off at the terminals.
• Circling the terminals for a pickup. Drivers can’t wait at the curb; use the free Cell Phone Lot by the P4 garage.
• Drive-up parking. Booking ahead on the Port Authority’s own site can save $5 to $20 a day.
• Fares printed on older pages. Check NJ Transit’s fare tool; both official airport pages still showed the pre-July fare in September 2026.
• Anyone offering a ride inside the terminal. Use the dispatcher-run taxi stands or the app zones; the Port Authority warns that unofficial “helpers” may be unlicensed.
• Counting on Priority Pass for a lounge. It lists no lounges at Newark, only Minute Suites and a spa.
• Your old MetroCard or SmartLink card for PATH. Neither works any more; tap a contactless card or phone.
• A connection that involves changing airports. Newark to JFK or LaGuardia means an hour or more in a cab, your bags and security all over again.

Newark Airport FAQ

Is Newark Airport in New Jersey?

Yes. Newark Liberty International Airport (code EWR) sits in the cities of Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, about 14 miles by road from Midtown Manhattan. It’s run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which also runs JFK and LaGuardia, and it handled 47 million passengers in 2025.

Which airlines fly into Newark Airport?

The Port Authority lists 38 airlines. United, with about two-thirds of Newark’s passengers, flies from Terminal C and some Terminal A gates; Air Canada, American, Delta and JetBlue use Terminal A; and more than 30 others, including Alaska, Frontier, Breeze, Allegiant and most foreign airlines, use Terminal B. Spirit shut down in May 2026.

Is there a train from Newark Airport to the Jersey Shore?

Yes. North Jersey Coast Line trains stop at the airport station: $23.35 to Long Branch or Asbury Park and $23.90 to Point Pleasant Beach in September 2026, with a change at Long Branch for most trips beyond it. From October 11 to 25, 2026, buses replace trains between Manasquan and Bay Head.

How do I get from Newark Airport to Jersey City?

Take NJ Transit one stop to Newark Penn Station ($12.40) and switch to PATH ($3.25), whose Newark line stops at Journal Square, Grove Street and Exchange Place: $15.65 in all. A taxi is about $56 by the Port Authority’s estimate, plus extras, and the drive takes about 20 minutes in light traffic.

Does the Newark Airport Express bus still run?

Yes. Coach USA’s Newark Airport Express still runs in 2026, stopping at all three terminals and, in Midtown, at Grand Central, Bryant Park and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The Port Authority lists it at $23.50 one way or $39.50 round trip, and the ride takes about 50 minutes, traffic permitting.

Why does Newark have so many delays?

Several things piled up: a shortage of certified controllers after Newark’s airspace moved to Philadelphia in 2024, failures on the telecom lines that carry its radar data, and a 2025 runway rebuild. The FAA now caps the airport at 72 scheduled flights an hour through October 30, 2027, and weather still causes most delays.

Where should I park for a long trip?

P6 Economy is the cheapest on-airport lot, $35 a day drive-up in September 2026 or from $30 booked ahead, with a free 24-hour shuttle to all three terminals. The P4 garage, on the AirTrain, is $60 a day drive-up or from $40 prebooked. Book on the Port Authority’s site, parking.newarkairport.com, at least 3 hours ahead.

Does the AirTrain go to Terminal A?

Not directly. The AirTrain’s Terminal A station is a 15-minute walk from the terminal along a covered path, or a 5-minute ride on a free shuttle bus. The new AirTrain, due in 2030, will fix that; until then, allow extra time, especially on weekday mornings, when buses replace the AirTrain to the rail station.

Sources and How We Checked

We checked every fare, fee, parking rate, schedule, airline list and service on this page on September 24, 2026: on the Port Authority’s Newark Airport pages and its 2025 airport traffic report, NJ Transit’s fare and schedule tools and advisories, Amtrak’s and PATH’s own pages, the FAA’s statements and flight-cap orders, federal on-time statistics, the TSA and Customs and Border Protection, and the airlines’, lounge operators’, bus companies’ and hotels’ own websites. News of the September 21, 2026 outage comes from NBC News and the Associated Press, as noted in the text. We did not fly through the airport for this update, and nothing here is sponsored. Drive times are light-traffic estimates from the OSRM routing engine, rounded to five minutes.

• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Newark Liberty International Airport (terminals, AirTrain, parking, taxis, ride-app zones and alerts) and its 2025 Annual Airport Traffic Report
• NJ Transit: Newark Liberty International Airport and its Portal Cutover service changes
• PATH fares and Port Authority bridge and tunnel tolls
• FAA statements on Newark Liberty International Airport and the June 2026 order extending the flight cap
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics: airport on-time performance
• TSA: REAL ID and CBP: Mobile Passport Control
• Atlantic City International Airport, Trenton-Mercer Airport and Philadelphia International Airport: public transportation

New Jersey Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with Visit New Jersey or the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NJ Transit, the FAA or any airline, airport, bus company or hotel listed here, and no one paid to be included.

Photo Credits

• Terminal A departures hall: photo by Schvaxet, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• United 787-10 on final approach: photo by Adam Moreira (AEMoreira042281), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Terminal A concourse: photo by Antony-22, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Terminal B flags: photo by Quintin Soloviev, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
• Terminal C after security: photo by Yonikasz, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• AirTrain and the Manhattan skyline: photo by Oleg Brovko from Halle (Saale), Germany, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• NJ Transit at the airport station: photo by Acroterion, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• EWR control tower: photo by formulanone from Huntsville, United States, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Trenton-Mercer terminal: photo by TastyPoutine, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)