The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday halved the number of flights that U.S. airlines must cut from their schedules at 40 airports as the nation’s aviation system recovers from a shortage of air traffic controllers during the record government shutdown.
The agency said airlines will only have to cancel 3% of their flights from 6am on Saturday morning, down from 6%. Out of safety concerns, the FAA first ordered a reduction in flights at busy airports on November 7, as absences at air traffic facilities and airport towers increased. Controllers were among the federal employees required to work while unpaid during the shutdown.
Cancellations peaked last Sunday at nearly 3,000 flights, about 10% of scheduled flights, due to the FAA order combined with ongoing controller shortages and bad weather in parts of the country. The numbers began to improve as the week passed and more controllers returned to work amid news of a possible shutdown deal in Congress, prompting the FAA to suspend plans for further increases.
The rollback comes amid improved staffing levels after the 43-day shutdown ended Wednesday evening, the FAA and the Department of Transportation said, adding that they will continue to monitor the situation through the weekend and evaluate when normal operations can resume.
Before the FAA released its updated guidance, airlines seemed to be anticipating a change. Despite the restrictions still in place, only 2% of flights scheduled to depart from the U.S. on Friday were canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. As of Friday evening, flight tracking site FlightAware showed 273 cancellations for Saturday.
The unprecedented order began with cuts of 4%, which later grew to 6%, leading to the cancellation of more than 11,800 flights between November 7 and Friday. The FAA originally had a target of 10%.
Transport Minister Sean Duffy has repeatedly said safety metrics must improve before the order is completely withdrawn.
Duffy did not share the specific safety data that led to the cuts, but he cited reports during the shutdown of planes getting too close in the air. runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.
It is unclear how long it will take for the aviation system to stabilize. The flight restrictions have upended airline operations within days. Many planes have been diverted and are not where they should be. Airlines for America, the trade group for U.S. airlines, warned there could be residual effects for days.
Some experts predicted that the problems could last longer. But airline executives were optimistic that flying could quickly recover ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel week, once the FAA’s order to cancel flights is lifted.
In an appearance on “CBS Mornings” after the shutdown ended, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian predicted a return to normalcy “much sooner than people think.”
“And normal for us is an incredibly safe, incredibly reliable and great experience,” he said. “Thanksgiving will be a great travel season.”
The national shortage of controllers is not new, but the lockdown has highlighted the problem and likely made it worse. Duffy said that toward the end of the shutdown, 15 to 20 controllers were retiring every day and some younger controllers were leaving the profession.
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