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The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it will fully lift the emergency flight restrictions imposed at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports during the record-setting government shutdown, clearing airlines to resume normal operations beginning Monday at 6 a.m. EST.
The announcement came in a joint statement from Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, who said improving air traffic controller staffing and a decline in shutdown-related safety risks made it possible to rescind the unprecedented limits on commercial flights.
Citing strained air traffic control facilities and “worrisome safety data,” the FAA imposed the sweeping order on Nov. 7. The shutdown, which lasted 43 days and became the longest in U.S. history, pushed controller staffing to critically low levels and forced the agency to restrict the volume of flights nationwide. The limits initially reduced traffic by 4%, later rising to 6%, before easing back to 3% last week as more controllers returned to work.
Major hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta were among the 40 affected airports, with disruptions peaking on Nov. 9, when more than 2,900 flights were canceled due to a combination of weather, staffing shortages and the FAA order.
By this weekend, conditions had improved dramatically. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that fewer than 1% of flights were canceled, the lowest rate since the restrictions took effect. FlightAware tracked 149 cancellations Sunday and 315 on Saturday — well below the FAA’s mandated 3% cuts.
The FAA said its internal safety team recommended ending the order after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.” Still, the agency acknowledged “reports of non-compliance by carriers” and said it is evaluating possible enforcement actions.
Duffy has not released the precise data that drove the initial flight cuts but has pointed to an increase in aircraft getting too close in flight, more runway incursions and pilot worries about controller responsiveness during the shutdown. Controllers, deemed essential employees, worked without pay throughout the impasse and missed two paychecks.
Industry leaders welcomed Sunday’s announcement, expressing optimism that airlines will stabilize in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel period — a crucial test for a system still recovering from the longest shutdown in American history.
