FAA to lift emergency flight restrictions Monday morning as air traffic staffing rebounds

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy credits Trump’s leadership for controller return

Former air traffic controller Michael Pearson says an Obama-era ‘social engineering’ experiment gutted the FAA’s training pipeline, leaving America’s skies short-staffed and travelers facing years of turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) flight reduction emergency order will officially end Monday morning, allowing normal operations to resume nationwide, according to officials.

The order will be lifted at 6 a.m. ET Monday following recommendations from the FAA’s safety team. The decision came after safety reviews and improvements in air traffic control staffing levels across the U.S., according to a Sunday announcement from the FAA.

“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 a statement. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, controllers have returned to their posts and normal operations can resume.”

FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS SLASHED AT 40 MAJOR US AIRPORTS AS GOVERNMENT REOPENS, STAFFING IMPROVES

Sean Duffy

Duffy added, “Now we can refocus our efforts on surging controller hiring and building the brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve.”

Since the government shutdown ended, staffing levels have largely shifted back to normal, according to the announcement.

On Friday, there were six staffing triggers, eight on Saturday, and just one on Sunday — data the FAA said is consistent with pre-shutdown conditions.

By contrast, 81 triggers were reported on Nov. 8.

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Air traffic control tower at LaGuardia Airport in Queens borough of New York City

The lifted order will also end some limits on general aviation operations at 12 airports, visual flight rule approaches at facilities with staffing triggers, commercial space launches and reentries, parachute operations and photo missions, according to the announcement.

“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement. “I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and for their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”

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Transportation Security Administration (TSA) works during the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in Burbank

On Friday, Duffy and Bedford announced the required flight reductions at 40 U.S. airports would be lowered from 6% to 3% as the government reopened after a record-breaking shutdown.

The change went into effect Saturday at 6 a.m., following a recommendation from the FAA safety and operations team.