For travelers at Newark Liberty International Airport, these next few days may feel like a lot is out of their control. Everything from nasty weather to recent staffing and construction problems is a recipe for angst over Memorial Day weekend.

Operations at United Airline's massive hub at Newark Liberty International airport have stabilised following a sharp reduction in daily air traffic mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

But smooth sailing out of the airport — deemed a “travel hellhole” by frustrated frequent flyers over the past few weeks — has become virtually impossible. The disarray is largely due to a string of air-traffic control outages, construction issues and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee walk-offs .

The airport, which has suffered from staffing shortages and communications breakdowns, faces the first big weekend leading up to summer.

At one point, the FAA had targeted 77 total arrivals and departures at Newark each hour, but at the start of construction on April 15 they requested airlines cut that down to 70 total during the day and 62 during specific hours in the late afternoons and evenings.