Phantom Weight on Newark Airport Scales May be Costing Travelers

April 20, 2026 | njspotlightnews.org

Checking your luggage at an airline counter or bag drop before a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport? Keep an eye on the baggage scales for phantom weight: You could be told to pay extra for more pounds than you packed. 

That’s because Newark’s weighing equipment routinely gives unreliable readings for passenger baggage that’s bound for jet cargo holds. During the scales’ most recent tests by New Jersey state regulators, the devices gave inaccurate results 27% of the time, according to a review of data by NJ Spotlight News and NYCity News Service.

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NJ SEED: The NJ Office of Weights & Measurers, under the Division of Consumer Affairs, has the responsibility to assure that scales used in commerce are accurate in order to protect consumers. EWR is one of the nation’s busiest airports, but, according to the article, Consumer Affairs had not done an inspection there since 2023. Recent tests on baggage scales have shown that they are frequently inaccurate. Government, as well as the public, must be held accountable for failure to fulfill its obligations.