US flights set to return to normal as FAA lifts shutdown restrictions
Flights across the United States are expected to return to normal on Monday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted emergency restrictions that had limited air travel during the recent government shutdown.
The FAA said airlines can resume full schedules starting at 6am Eastern Time (11:00 GMT) on Monday. The restrictions, imposed earlier this month, required major airlines to reduce flights to ensure safety as air traffic controller staffing levels fell sharply, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
During the shutdown, controllers reported severe fatigue, and some refused to report to work, prompting the FAA to mandate reduced schedules at 40 of the country’s largest airports. The cutbacks caused thousands of flight cancellations and widespread delays.
President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday to restore government funding, ending a six-week political standoff between Republicans and Democrats and paving the way for the FAA to roll back limits.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency removed the restrictions after seeing a “steady decline in staffing concerns.” The number of staffing triggers — incidents where available controllers fall below safe operating levels — dropped dramatically, falling from 81 on November 8 to just one on Sunday.
Airlines had previously been required to cut flights by 4 percent by November 7 and 6 percent by November 10. As staffing improved following the shutdown’s end, the FAA eased the requirement to a 3 percent reduction last week.
In its Sunday statement, the FAA also said it is reviewing possible enforcement actions after reports that some airlines failed to fully comply with the emergency order.
According to the flight tracking service FlightAware, only 149 flights were cancelled on Sunday, well below the percentage mandated under the temporary restrictions.
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