Thirty-nine-year Xiang Xun Shao of Manhattan was charged with defiant trespass and a weapons offense following Saturday night's incident at Newark Liberty International Airport.
He was later taken to a nearby hospital, where he was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
A spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said Shao was initially seen walking around near a gate where vehicles access the tarmac area.
He then jumped over a retractable metal barrier and briefly ran onto the tarmac before being caught near Terminal C.