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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will lift all commercial flight restrictions at 40 major airports on Monday as air traffic controller staffing stabilizes following the country’s longest government shutdown.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the emergency order mandating nationwide flight reductions will end at 6 a.m., allowing normal operations to resume across the National Airspace System.
The FAA said the decision follows recommendations from its safety team, which reported a steady decline in staffing-trigger events and positive safety indicators as air traffic controllers returned to work.
Duffy thanked the agency’s “dedicated safety team” for maintaining security during the shutdown and said efforts will now focus on increasing controller hiring and developing a “state-of-the-art air traffic control system.”
Bedford said the lifting of the order reflects a “steady decline in staffing concerns” and praised personnel for their commitment to public safety.
The FAA issued the traffic-reduction order on Nov. 7 as staffing shortages intensified during the shutdown, prompting unprecedented limits on nationwide air traffic and thousands of flight disruptions.
Major hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta were among the most affected.
Flight cancellations peaked on Nov. 9, when airlines grounded more than 2,900 flights due to the FAA order, controller shortages and severe weather.
Controller staffing improved last week as more personnel returned to facilities amid signs of an impending congressional deal to end the shutdown.
Staffing-trigger events dropped from 81 on Nov. 8 to just one on Nov. 16, the FAA said, marking a return to pre-shutdown conditions.
With the order lifted, restrictions on some general aviation flights, visual flight rule approaches, commercial space operations and parachute or photo missions will also end.
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