Newark Airport’s New $3 Billion Terminal A Expected to Open in November

The new Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport will open in November, its main tenant United Airlines told pilots this week in a memo obtained by Airline Weekly.

The Chicago-based carrier plans to move into an initial 12 gates in Terminal A on around November 1, its Newark Chief Pilot Captain Fabian Garcia told pilots Wednesday. United will later expand its footprint to 15 gates, or nearly half of the 33 gates in the new $2.7 billion facility.

“Once the [Newark Terminal A] opens, we will increase our schedule accordingly to more than 400 flights” at Newark, Garcia said. United plans to operate narrowbody aircraft, for example Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 Max jets, from the new facility.

The new terminal at Newark is one of the more than $13 billion in airport expansion projects opening across the U.S. in 2022. Others include the new Terminal C at Orlando International Airport that opened on September 20, as well as new facilities at the Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle-Tacoma airports.

And in the New York City area, Terminal A is the latest in a series of multi-billion dollar upgrades to city’s three main airports, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. Earlier in September, construction began on the new $9.5 billion Terminal 1 at JFK, and, in June, Delta Air Lines opened the second phase — a terminal building and one concourse — of its nearly $4 billion Terminal C redevelopment at LaGuardia.

Terminal A at Newark opens almost on time, something nearly unheard of when it comes to major infrastructure projects in the New York area. The facility was originally due to open in phases in 2021 and 2022, with the initial opening only sliding about a year. The new terminal replaces the existing Terminal A at Newark that dates to 1973, which will be demolished.

When flights begin operating in and out of the new facility, United will split its operates between Terminals A and C at Newark. Garcia told pilots that flights to 23 destinations are likely to arrive and depart from the new facility. They include: Atlanta, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, and Tampa.

United is expected to share Terminal A with Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta, and JetBlue Airways.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark airport, did not comment by press time.