The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Sunday its decision to lift all commercial flight restrictions previously enforced at 40 major airports due to the nation’s longest government shutdown.
Airlines are set to return to their standard flight operations starting Monday at 6 a.m. EST, as confirmed by the agency.
This update was delivered in a joint statement by Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
Amid growing safety concerns from staff shortages at air traffic control facilities during the shutdown, the FAA had implemented an unprecedented order to manage air traffic. This order, effective since November 7, disrupted thousands of flights nationwide.
Key airports impacted included major hubs such as those in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.
Initially, flight reductions began at 4% and escalated to 6%. However, on Friday, the FAA scaled back these restrictions to 3%, attributing the rollback to ongoing improvements in air traffic controller staffing following the historic 43-day shutdown.
The FAA statement said an FAA safety team recommended the order be rescinded after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.”
The statement said the FAA “is aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order. The agency is reviewing and assessing enforcement options.” It did not elaborate.
Cancellations hit their highest point Nov. 9, when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of the FAA order, ongoing controller shortages and severe weather in parts of the country. But conditions began to improve throughout the week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress was close to a deal to end the shutdown. That progress also prompted the FAA to pause plans for further rate increases.
The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said worrisome safety data showed the move was necessary to ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities as the shutdown entered its second month and flight disruptions began to pile up.
Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees who had to continue working without pay throughout the shutdown. They missed two paychecks during the impasse.
Duffy hasn’t shared the specific safety data that prompted the cuts, but he cited reports during the shutdown of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.
Airline leaders have expressed optimism that operations would rebound in time for the Thanksgiving travel period after the FAA lifted its order.
