Flight reductions ordered by the Trump administration will end Monday, the Transportation Department and Federal Aviation Administration said after mandating cuts during the shutdown that caused more than 9,500 flight cancellations and tens of thousands of delays.
“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the [National Airspace System] and allows us to return to normal operations,” FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said late Sunday in a statement. The latest order followed a review of safety trends and a steady decline in staffing issues at air traffic control facilities, the statement said.
The disruptions had fueled worries about the impact on travel around the Thanksgiving holiday, when an estimated 31 million people are expected to fly. But now that the government shutdown has ended, airline executives say they are in position to have their operations ready for the surge.
In an email message to customers on Monday, Southwest Airlines’ CEO Bob Jordan said the carrier is ready to welcome travelers back.
“Thank you for your patience and trust as we worked through the challenges our industry faced during the recent U.S. government shutdown,” he wrote.
While air travel may be returning to normal levels, this may not be the last word on the shutdown.
On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the shutdown’s impact on air travel and aviation safety. Among the witnesses scheduled to appear are Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association; Chris Sununu, president of the airline trade group Airlines for America; and Jim Viola, CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
One potential topic might be how to insulate essential aviation workers from future shutdowns. The plight of controllers, transportation security officers and those responsible for maintaining key aviation safety systems — who all continued to work even though they weren’t being paid — received significant attention during the 43-day shutdown.
“The public and media will debate who won [the shutdown], but we all know who carried the weight of it and who has to pick up the pieces when it finally ends,” Daniels said at a briefing last week. “It’s us. The federal workforce that has been the rope in this game of tug of war.”
The phased cuts at 40 “high-traffic” airports — aimed at easing the strain on the aviation system during the shutdown — went into effect Nov. 7 following an emergency order issued by the Transportation Department. They were originally scheduled to grow as high as 10 percent but were frozen at 6 percent on Wednesday after the travel authorities cited a “rapid decline” in air traffic controllers reporting absences.
The FAA also said Sunday that it is reviewing reports of noncompliant carriers while the emergency order was in effect and “assessing enforcement options.”
Air travel disruptions peaked Nov. 9, with nearly 3,000 flight cancellations and 10,000 delays, according to FlightAware. The situation has since stabilized, with more than 150 flights canceled and 4,700 other delayed on Sunday.
The disruptions highlighted deficiencies in the U.S. aviation system that still need to be fixed — in particular a shortage of certified air traffic controllers, whose work is essential to keeping flights safe and on schedule.
Most of them worked mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay, missing two paychecks. Daniels said last week that the missed wages meant some members were driving for DoorDash in their off-hours or donating plasma so they could pay bills.
President Donald Trump last week recommended bonuses for controllers who worked through the shutdown and threatened repercussions for those who took time off. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said last week that air traffic controllers had received 70 percent of their paychecks and the rest of the backpay is being processed.
But the U.S. air traffic system is still facing a shortfall of about 3,000 certified controllers. Duffy has stepped up efforts to recruit more candidates, though training new controllers can take years.
Ian Duncan contributed to this report.
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