Passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport have suffered delays of up to five hours due to runway work, equipment outages, and staff shortages.

United Airlines Capt. Miles Morgan says a loss of communication with air traffic control is one of the first things pilots learn to handle.

Air traffic controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport again lost contact with planes Monday, according to the FAA. It's the fourth such incident at that airport in less than a month and the latest in a string of alarming incidents and close calls at airports across the country.

Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and American Airlines are the top three U.S. carriers at JFK, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. To regain a foothold, United must negotiate with the FAA or acquire slots from one of those three.

The FAA is holding a “delay reduction” meeting Wednesday, seeking to cap the total number of flights at the airport.

The FAA is proposing to temporarily reduce the number of flights landing at Newark Airport in an effort to curb widespread delays.

The flight caps went into effect on Tuesday, but it is unclear how quickly Newark can resolve most of its operational issues.

The FAA announced it's cutting the number of flights landing and taking off at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Flight arrivals at Newark capped at 28 per hour through mid-June, rising to 34 per hour afterward under FAA's emergency order. The move follows radar outages, severe congestion, and staffing shortages that crippled operations in recent weeks.

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL) continues to experience extreme congestion at its main hub, Newark Liberty International Airport, which accounts for 22% of total capacity and 16.5% of total departures.