Newark Liberty International Airport briefly shut down Wednesday evening due to a reported “aircraft emergency” — effectively grounding all flights for about an hour.
The major airport issued a travel advisory, writing in a statement on X that all flight operations were “temporarily suspended while an aircraft is removed from the taxiway due to an earlier incident.”
The New Jersey travel hub was expected to be closed from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but reopened just after 7 p.m.
A ground stop was originally in place from 5:42 p.m. to 7 p.m. for an “aircraft emergency” that was caused by an engine issue on the JetBlue flight, which was headed for West Palm Beach, Florida, the airline confirmed in a statement.
The plane was taking off from Newark Airport, but turned around and landed back on the tarmac just 40 minutes into the journey, according to FlightAware.
In a preliminary statement, the FAA confirmed that JetBlue Flight 543 “landed safely” after crews “reported smoke in the cockpit and evacuated passengers via slides” around 6 p.m.
Video taken by other travelers stranded on the taxiway captured a fleet of emergency response vehicles parked on the tarmac.
Video shared with Kol Haolam by a passenger on the JetBlue flight that made an emergency return to Newark Airport. Passengers amd crew evacuated via slides. pic.twitter.com/9gv3LgUd0B
— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) February 18, 2026
Another video taken by a passenger on the JetBlue flight showed passengers deplaning as firefighters directed them back toward the airport.
The evacuation had caused the airport to temporarily shut down operations. Departing flights out of Newark still faced roughly hour-long delays after operations resumed, according to the FAA.
JetBlue said that they “will work closely with the appropriate federal authorities to investigate what occurred.”
