The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Sunday that it is immediately lifting all commercial flight restrictions that were imposed at 40 major U.S. airports during the recent record-long government shutdown.
Airlines are cleared to resume their regular flight schedules beginning Monday at 6 a.m. EST, according to a joint statement from Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
The restrictions, an unprecedented order issued on November 7 due to growing air traffic control staffing shortages and safety concerns during the shutdown, had affected thousands of flights at major hubs including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tampa, and Atlanta.
Initial flight cuts of 4% had grown to 6% before being rolled back to 3% last Friday. The FAA stated that an agency safety team recommended rescinding the order after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events” since the 43-day shutdown ended on November 12.
Cancellations peaked on November 9, with over 2,900 flights cut due to the order, controller shortages, and weather.
Conditions began improving as more air traffic controllers, who had worked without pay and missed two paychecks during the impasse, returned to work. The FAA is also “reviewing and assessing enforcement options” regarding reports of non-compliance by some carriers during the emergency order.
READ: House Speaker Mike Johnson Confronts Claim House Went On ‘Vacation’ During Shutdown
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