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📂 Category: air traffic controllers,air travel,aviation,federal aviation administration,sean duffy
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Flight reductions at 40 major U.S. airports will remain at 6% instead of rising to 10% by the end of the week due to more air traffic controllers returning to work, officials said Wednesday.
The announcement came as Congress took steps to end the longest government shutdown in history. Not long afterward, President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill to end the shutdown.
Read more: The lockout is over, with no winners and a lot of frustration. How did we get here?
The flight reductions were implemented last week as more air traffic controllers went off the job, due to stress and the need to take on second jobs, leading to staffing shortages in control towers and facilities. Air traffic controllers lost two paychecks during the crisis.
The Department of Transportation said the decision to reduce flights was made based on recommendations from the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety team, after a “rapid decline” in controller recalls.
Transport Minister Sean Duffy said the 6% cap will remain in place while officials assess whether the air traffic system can safely return to normal operations, although he did not provide a timeline on Wednesday.
“If the FAA safety team determines that the trend lines are moving in the right direction, we will establish a path to resume normal operations,” Duffy said in a statement.
Read more: ‘Worst time’ to be a federal employee: Workers wonder if the shutdown is worth their sacrifices
Duffy and FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said Wednesday that safety remains their top priority and that all decisions will be guided by data.
Delta sounded an optimistic note about how long the flight reductions would last, saying in a statement that the airline looked forward to returning its “operation to full capacity within the next few days.”
Since the restrictions went into effect last Friday, more than 10,100 flights have been cancelled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. The FAA originally planned to increase flight discounts from 4% to 10% at the 40 airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration said troubling safety data showed there was a need to reduce flights to ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities as flights begin to be disrupted.
Read more: Even after the government shutdown ends, flight cancellations in the United States are expected to continue
Duffy declined to share the specific safety data that led to the flights being cut short. But at a news conference Tuesday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, he pointed to reports of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilots’ concerns about controllers’ reactions.
The FAA’s list of 40 airports spans more than two dozen states and includes large hubs such as New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago. The order requires all commercial airlines to make reductions at those airports.
Airlines for America, the trade group for US airlines, posted on social media that it was grateful for the funding bill. She said the government’s reopening will allow US airlines to resume operations before the Thanksgiving holiday, which will take about two weeks.
It is unclear how long it will take for the flight system to stabilize. Flight restrictions have turned airline operations upside down in just a matter of days. Many planes were diverted and were not where they were supposed to be. American Airlines said earlier Wednesday that there would be lingering effects for several days.
Eric Chaffee, a Case Western Reserve University professor who studies risk management, says airlines face complex hurdles, including rebuilding flight schedules that were planned months in advance.
Earlier on Wednesday, airline and hotel groups urged the House of Representatives to move quickly to end the lockdown, warning of potential chaos in holiday travel.
The flight outages disrupted other flights and crews, resulting in more cancellations than the FAA initially requested. The impact was exacerbated by an unexpected shortage of consoles over the weekend and severe weather.
The CEO of the U.S. Travel Association said essential federal workers like air traffic controllers and TSA workers should get paid if Congress “goes down this foolish path again” and there is a shutdown.
“America cannot afford another self-inflicted crisis that threatens the systems that millions depend on every day,” Jeff Freeman said in a statement.
Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.
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