FAA takes first steps to restore flights after shutdown strain, but some limits remain
An American Eagle plane moves past the FAA Air Traffic Control tower at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in the Queens borough of New York, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)2025-11-14T21:59:05Z
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it plans to roll back some of the restrictions on commercial flights it implemented at 40 major U.S. airports during the shutdown.
The agency says the current mandatory 6% flight cuts are being downgraded to 3% beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, even though the record 43-day shutdown ended Nov. 12. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly said restrictions would remain until staffing at air traffic control facilities stabilizes and safety metrics improve.
The rollback comes amid continued improvements in staffing levels, the FAA and Department of Transportation said Friday, adding that they will continue to monitor the situation throughout the weekend and evaluate whether normal operations can resume.
By Friday afternoon, the flight tracking website FlightAware showed just 159 cancellations for Saturday in the U.S.
The data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-airlines-faa-e39c423facec2b0dcc2544af48de0fa1">unprecedented order, in place since Nov. 7, has affected thousands of flights. The head of the FAA said troubling data showed the measure was needed to ease pressure on the aviation system as the shutdown entered its second month and controller absences rose. Unpaid for more than a month, many controllers cited financial strain and the need to take on side jobs.
The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6%. The FAA originally had a 10% target, but officials held off on further rate increases because they said more controllers were coming to work amid news that Congress was close to reaching a deal to end the shutdown.
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Air traffic controllers data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/economy-impact-shutdown-snap-flights-trump-826406b1083b262cad78338bc99f103b">missed two paychecks during the impasse.
Duffy hasn’t shared the specific safety data that prompted the cuts, but he cited reports during the shutdown of planes getting too close in the air, more data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/delta-planes-collision-new-york-laguardia-6ccff3aabeca787c31f1f6746ad771fd">runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.
How long it will take for the aviation system to stabilize is unclear. The flight restrictions upended airline operations in just a matter of days. Many planes were rerouted and aren’t where they’re supposed to be. Airlines for America, the trade group of U.S. airlines, warned there could be residual effects for days.
Some experts predicted the problems could linger longer but airline executives were optimistic that flying could quickly return to normal ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel week.
The data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/air-traffic-controllers-shortage-faa-sean-duffy-58811ae898daca67722d6e0741cf5822">nationwide shortage of controllers isn’t new, but the shutdown put a spotlight on the problem and likely made it worse. Duffy said that by the end of the shutdown, 15-20 controllers were retiring daily and some younger controllers were leaving the profession.
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RIO YAMAT Yamat is a national business reporter for The Associated Press. Based in Las Vegas, she covers airlines, travel and tourism.
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JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers transportation including aviation safety and airlines along with all the major freight railroads. Funk also covers Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the impact of the ongoing bird flu outbreak, agriculture and other news out of the Midwest.
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FAA takes first steps to restore flights after shutdown strain, but some limits remain
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December 14, 2015, 12:28:38 AM