US to end nationwide flight reductions as controller staffing stabilizes

ISTANBUL 

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Sunday that it is ending all commercial flight restrictions that have been in place at 40 major airports throughout the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency’s emergency order mandating nationwide flight reductions will be lifted at 6 am Monday, allowing normal operations to resume across the National Airspace System (NAS).

The decision follows recommendations from the FAA’s safety team, which cited comprehensive reviews of safety indicators and a consistent drop in staffing-related incidents at air traffic control facilities.

Duffy thanked the FAA’s “dedicated safety team” for keeping skies secure during the prolonged government shutdown, saying that with controllers now back at their posts, “normal operations can resume.” He added that the focus will shift to boosting controller hiring and building a “state-of-the-art air traffic control system.”

Bedford said the decision to lift the order reflects a “steady decline in staffing concerns” and praised the agency’s teams for their commitment to public safety.

The FAA imposed the traffic-reduction order on Nov. 7 amid mounting safety concerns as staffing shortages worsened during the shutdown, forcing unprecedented limits on nationwide air traffic and affecting thousands of flights.

Major hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta were among those impacted.

Flight cancellations peaked on Nov. 9 when airlines grounded more than 2,900 flights due to the FAA order, persistent controller shortages and severe weather.

Conditions steadily improved last week as more controllers returned amid signs that Congress was nearing a shutdown deal, leading the FAA to halt plans for additional flight-cut increases.

The agency said controller staffing has steadily rebounded since the shutdown ended Wednesday, dropping from a peak of 81 staffing-trigger events on Nov. 8 to just one on Nov. 16, returning to pre-shutdown levels.

With the order lifted, limits on certain general aviation flights, visual flight rule approaches, commercial space operations, and parachute or photo missions will also end.

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