With holiday traffic looming, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it lifted all restrictions on commercial flights that were previously imposed at 40 major airports during the government shutdown. Airlines can resume their regular flight schedules beginning Monday.
The announcement was made in a joint statement by Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
Citing safety concerns due to staffing shortages during the shutdown, the FAA began limiting air traffic on Nov. 7 at major hubs, affecting thousands of flights across the country.
The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA on Friday rolled the restrictions back to 3%. The flight tracking website FlightAware said 149 flights were cut Sunday and 315 were canceled on Saturday.
The FAA statement said an agency safety team recommended the order be rescinded after 'detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffingtrigger events in air traffic control facilities.'
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. Conditions began to improve throughout last week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress was close to a deal to end the shutdown.
The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Duffy had 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.
Airline leaders have expressed optimism that operations would rebound in time for the Thanksgiving travel period after the FAA lifted its order.