U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford issued an emergency order freezing flight reductions at 6% at 40 major airports nationwide on Wednesday. This halts a planned 10% increase scheduled for the end of the week.
The decision followed what officials described as a “rapid decline” in controller callouts, with staffing triggers dropping from a peak of 81 to just four on Wednesday. These staffing triggers, operational alerts that occur when facilities don’t have enough controllers to maintain normal service levels, have served as a key indicator of system stress during the shutdown.
The flight reduction plan had been implemented November 7 in response to mounting safety concerns as air traffic controllers worked through the 43-day government shutdown without pay. The original emergency order called for a phased approach, starting at 4% reductions and ramping up to 10% by November 14.
More than 10,100 flights were canceled between when restrictions took effect Friday and Wednesday, according to flight tracking data. On Wednesday alone, 900 flights were canceled—the fewest in six days under the FAA requirements.
The shutdown, which began October 1 and officially ended Wednesday night when President Trump signed funding legislation, became the longest in U.S. history. During that time, approximately 14,000 air traffic controllers and 5,000 FAA equipment specialists continued working without paychecks.
The prolonged lack of pay created severe financial strain for many federal aviation workers.
While the 6% freeze represents progress, significant restrictions remain in place at the affected airports. These include:
- Limited general aviation operations at 12 airports
- Restrictions on visual flight rule approaches at facilities with staffing triggers
- Commercial space launches and reentries permitted only between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time
- Prohibitions on parachute operations and photo missions near facilities experiencing staffing constraints
The 40 high-impact airports subject to these measures span more than two dozen states and include major hubs such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Transportation officials did not provide a specific timeline for returning to normal operations. Officials say it will take time for operations to fully stabilize. Flight schedules that were planned months in advance need to be rebuilt, and aircraft repositioned to their proper locations.
Airlines are required to issue full refunds to passengers for canceled flights under the emergency order. The funding bill signed Wednesday guarantees backpay for all federal workers, with different agencies processing payments on varying schedules between November 15 and November 19.
The shutdown deal funds most federal agencies through January 30, with full-year appropriations for the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs and military construction projects. It also reverses more than 4,000 layoffs issued during the shutdown and prohibits agencies from implementing reductions in force through January.
