U.S. Halts Airport Flight Cuts at 6% Until Further Notice
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has frozen mandated flight capacity cuts at 40 major airports at 6%, halting the previously planned increase to 10% that was set for November 14. The decision came just hours before the record-long government shutdown ended on November 13 and will remain in place indefinitely.
“The 6% hold will remain in place as the Federal Aviation Administration continues to assess whether the system can gradually return to normal operations,” the DOT said. The new emergency order replaces the earlier directive but keeps several restrictions intact, including limits on general aviation at 12 airports, visual flight rule (VFR) approaches at facilities facing staffing triggers, commercial space launches, and aerial photography or parachute missions near affected airfields.
The list of 40 impacted airports remains unchanged and includes major hubs such as Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles International, Denver International, Miami International, Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, and Dallas/Fort Worth, among others.
The FAA is currently experiencing a shortfall of roughly 3,500 air traffic controllers, according to Reuters, with many required to work mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. During the shutdown, controllers continued working without pay as essential staff.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency will only restore normal operations once safety teams confirm that staffing and operational metrics are improving. No timeline was provided.
Airlines, however, are expressing cautious optimism. Southwest Airlines COO Andrew Watterson told employees he expects the cuts to last only a few days following the shutdown’s end, while Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC he believes the U.S. aviation system could be “largely back to normal” by November 17.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com