Newark Airport closed on Wednesday evening following an emergency. Here's what happened

Newark Liberty International Airport was briefly shut down on Wednesday evening following an “aircraft emergency," due to which other flights were also grounded for nearly an hour. Officials said that an aircraft had to make an emergency landing due to engine problems, causing major delays. The FAA said in a statement that the JetBlue plane was headed to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, but experienced engine issues shortly after take-off. “The Airbus A320 was headed to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, and the crew reported an engine issue shortly after departing," the agency said. After the plane landed at Newark airport and exited the runway, the crew saw smoke in the cockpit. All the passengers were evacuated via slides. Operations returned to normal by 7:07 pm.

Newark Airport emergency video

Earlier, the FAA said that the emergency would likely close down the New Jersey travel hub from 6 pm to 11 pm ET. However, the ground stop lasted from 5:42 pm to 7 pm. The JetBlue flight to Palm Beach returned to the airport after just 40 minutes into the journey, according to FlightAware. Passengers on the taxiway captured videos of the emergency showing a fleet of emergency response vehicles on the tarmac. Other videos show passengers sliding down the aeroplane. After operations returned to normal, flights continued to be delayed for over an hour, the FAA said. Flights leaving Newark were delayed by an average of 90 minutes, while the incoming flights were delayed more than two hours. JetBlue said it will investigate the issue to understand what led to the engine problem.

In January 2025, an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people. Families of the victims are urging lawmakers to mandate advanced aircraft locator systems on planes, since it could have avoided the accident.