Trump Administration’s FAA Chief Clears Normal Operations in the Skies Post-Shutdown

The Federal Aviation Administration early Monday lifted an order that airlines cut domestic flights to 40 major U.S. airports, as air traffic control staffing levels improve following the six-week government shutdown.

The move came just before the busiest travel week of the year, though it was unclear how long it would take for airlines to resume normal operations.

The FAA’s safety team recommended ending the restrictions after seeing only one staffing trigger affect travel on Sunday, according to an agency press release. There were 81 staffing triggers on Nov. 8, a few days before the end of the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

“I want to thank the FAA’s dedicated safety team for keeping our skies secure during the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history and the country’s patience for putting safety first,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in the release. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, controllers have returned to their posts and normal operations can resume.”

The government reopened after a 43-day shutdown on Nov. 12.

Air traffic controllers were required to work without pay during the shutdown, leaving many to pursue second jobs, and the workforce was overstressed. The order to reduce flights, peaking at 6% at major airports, was meant to reduce that stress.

The banners at the tops of major U.S. airline websites warning of canceled flights disappeared by Monday morning.

One carrier, Southwest, replaced it with a message that its normal schedule would resume on Monday.

“Good news, the US government shutdown has ended,” the message read. “Our full schedule resumes on Nov 17. Book your next trip with confidence today.”

by Jacob Fischler, Virginia Mercury

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