Airports across the United States have resumed “normal levels of operations” after federal officials announced an end to massive flight cuts in place during the shutdown.
During the height of the government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration saw traffic drop at 40 airports. The rollback was due to shortages of air traffic controllers, who were not paid but continued to work during the longest government funding shutdown in U.S. history.
FAA officials announced that operations had returned to pre-shutdown levels as of 6 a.m. Monday.
“I want to thank the FAA’s dedicated safety team for keeping our skies safe during the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history and for the nation’s patience in putting safety first,” said Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. “Now we can refocus our efforts on increasing controller recruitment and building the brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve.”
According to FlightAware, there were more than 400 flight delays in the US on Monday and 30 cancellations, but these were due to weather or other issues.
Previously, the total number of flights entering, leaving and traveling in the United States had been reduced by as much as 6 percent in an effort to keep air travel safe during the shutdown. At the time, Duffy suggested that up to 10 percent of flights could be grounded before Congress made a breakthrough in ending the shutdown.
According to the FAA statement, the number of staffing triggers caused by a shortage of available air traffic controllers dropped to just one on November 16. On the worst day of the shutdown, November 8, that number shot up to 81 staff triggers.
In the statement, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford thanked the teams that made it through the shutdown.
“Today’s decision to lift the order reflects the steady decline in staffing issues within the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations,” he said. “I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”
Concerns about the cuts came to a head last week as Americans monitored flight schedules ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Duffy told NewsMax Finnerty showing that it would take “up to a week to get back to normal, which is right before major Thanksgiving travel,” raising fears that airline chaos could continue even after the shutdown ended.
However, this is what Mike Arnot, spokesperson for the aviation analysis company Cirium, says The Guardian that federal workers who are normally paid will stabilize flight schedules before Thanksgiving.
“With controllers finally getting their back pay, this will likely restore stability to the U.S. airline industry relatively quickly,” he said. “Thanksgiving should not be affected at all.”
Like many other federal employees, air traffic controllers were forced to work without pay through the government shutdown. Many were forced to take second jobs just to make ends meet.
As the shutdown came to an end, Donald Trump floated the idea that he could give $10,000 to every air traffic controller who worked during the entire government shutdown.
However, while it appears on The Ingraham Cornerhe revealed that he has no idea where this money would come from.
“I don’t know. I’ll get it from somewhere…,” he said. ‘I always get the money from somewhere, it doesn’t matter.
“I do a lot of bonuses for people because it’s really something that… It’s kind of like the American way, when you think about it.”
He also hit out at air traffic controllers who called in sick during the shutdown in an angry Truth Social post, even suggesting their pay could be “substantially cut.”
“For those who did nothing but complain and take time off even though everyone knew they would be paid in FULL shortly in the future, I AM NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” he seethed. “You failed to act to help the US against the FALSE DEMOCRACY ATTACK designed only to hurt our country.
“You will receive, at least in my opinion, a negative mark on your record.”
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