The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Sunday that it will lift the flight reduction order at 40 major airports across the United States starting from 6 am on Monday Eastern Time, allowing airlines to resume their normal flight schedules.
In a statement, the FAA said, “After a detailed review of safety trends and a steady decrease in staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities, it is recommended to terminate the order.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed gratitude to the dedicated safety team at the FAA for maintaining airspace safety during the longest government shutdown in American history and thanked the nation for its patience in prioritizing safety.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, air traffic controllers have returned to their positions, allowing for normal operations to resume. Now, we can refocus on significantly expanding air traffic controller recruitment and building a brand-new, cutting-edge air traffic control system to provide the American people with the service they deserve,” Duffy stated.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford also remarked that the decision to rescind the order reflects a stable decrease in staffing concerns across the national airspace system, enabling them to restore normal operations. He thanked the FAA safety and operations team for their hard work and dedication to public travel safety.
The statement indicated that staffing-triggered events are rapidly decreasing, with 6 incidents on November 14, 8 on November 15, and only 1 on November 16. In contrast, there were 81 staffing-triggered events on November 8, setting a new record high.
Initially exacerbated by the federal government shutdown, staffing shortages in air traffic control facilities led the FAA to issue an unprecedented order restricting airspace traffic due to safety concerns.
The order took effect on November 7, impacting thousands of flights nationwide. Major airports affected included hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Secretary Duffy and Administrator Bedford jointly announced the significant decision, emphasizing that reducing flights was necessary to alleviate the pressure on unpaid air traffic controllers.
Flight reductions began at 4% and later increased to 6%. However, the FAA announced last Friday that with the end of the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown and continued improvement in air traffic control manpower, the reduction level will be scaled back to 3%.
The number of flight cancellations over the weekend hit a new low since the order took effect, well below the FAA’s requirement of a 3% reduction on Saturdays and Sundays.
According to aviation data company Cirium, less than 1% of flights were cancelled across the United States over the weekend. Flight tracking website FlightAware showed that 315 flights were cancelled on Saturday and 149 on Sunday.
In Sunday’s statement, the FAA acknowledged that some airlines did not comply with the reduction regulations during the emergency order period. The agency is currently reviewing and evaluating enforcement options.
The highest number of flight cancellations occurred on November 9, with over 2,900 flights cancelled nationwide due to the FAA reduction order, ongoing air traffic controller shortages, and severe weather in some regions.