The Federal Aviation Administration has announced it is removing all restrictions on commercial flights that were implemented at forty major American airports during the country's longest-ever government shutdown.
Normal Operations Resume
Airlines will be permitted to return to their regular flight schedules beginning at 6am on Monday, according to a Sunday night statement from the agency. The decision marks a significant step toward normalising air travel operations after weeks of disruption caused by the political impasse in Washington.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed gratitude to the aviation safety teams in an official statement, saying: "I want to thank the FAA's dedicated safety team for keeping our skies secure during the longest government shutdown in our nation's history and the country's patience for putting safety first."
Duffy credited President Trump's leadership for the resolution, noting that controllers have returned to their posts following the 43-day standoff that concluded on November 12.
Safety Concerns During Shutdown
The FAA had taken the unprecedented step of limiting air traffic due to mounting safety concerns as staffing shortages worsened at air traffic control facilities throughout the shutdown period. The restrictions had been in place since November 7 and significantly impacted thousands of flights across the United States at the height of the crisis.
Affected airports included major transportation hubs in:
- New York
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Atlanta
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford confirmed that "today's decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations." He praised the dedication of FAA safety and operations teams in maintaining travel safety throughout the challenging period.
Progressive Improvement
The flight reductions had begun at 4 percent before escalating to 6 percent, though the FAA scaled back restrictions to 3 percent on Friday as conditions improved following the House vote to end the shutdown. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium revealed that less than 1 percent of all flights were cancelled this weekend, representing the lowest cancellation rate since the order took effect.
FlightAware, the flight tracking service, reported 149 flights were cancelled on Sunday and 315 on Saturday, figures well below the 3 percent reduction the FAA had mandated for the weekend.
The agency's safety team recommended lifting the emergency order after conducting detailed reviews of safety trends and noting a steady decline in staffing-related incidents at air traffic control facilities.
Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees required to work without payment throughout the shutdown, missing two paychecks during the impasse. Prior to the resolution, President Trump had demanded that essential workers return to their duties, threatening to dock pay for those who refused while suggesting $10,000 bonuses for what he termed "patriotic" controllers who continued working without complaint.
With the restrictions now lifted, airline executives have expressed optimism that operations will fully recover in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel period, providing relief to millions of passengers affected by the unprecedented government shutdown.
