The U.S. Transportation Department has lifted its emergency order to ground flights nationwide, saying it now has enough air traffic controllers reporting to work to mitigate safety concerns.
During the government shutdown that began in October, the number of absentee air traffic controllers, who as essential employees were forced to work without pay, increased, causing airports to delay or ground flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) then ordered airlines to reduce scheduled takeoffs starting Nov. 7 to prevent safety problems.
Since the shutdown ended last week, staffing levels have “continued to recover,” the department said, just in time for busy Thanksgiving travel.
More than 6 million people in the U.S. are expected to fly during the Thanksgiving holiday – up about 2% from last year – according to major travel group AAA, which notes the period is the busiest holiday for U.S. travel.
“Controllers have returned to their posts and normal operations can resume,” Transport Minister Sean Duffy said in announcing the lifting of the emergency order. “We can now refocus our efforts on increasing controller hiring and building the entirely new, modern air traffic control system that the American people deserve.”
The absence of air traffic controllers was one of the most visible consequences of the 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Many supervisors said they were forced to take second jobs to make up for the lack of pay, and many of those who showed up for work said they felt stressed and tired.
Airports have struggled to keep flights on schedule, sometimes relying on control towers miles away to direct planes. The problem was compounded by an already existing shortage of dispatchers.
The emergency order called for a reduction of up to 10% of U.S. domestic flights, and in the first week of November, thousands of flights were canceled and further delayed.
According to the announcement of the lifting of the order, the FAA is “aware of reports of carriers not complying with the requirements of the emergency order. The agency is reviewing and evaluating enforcement options.”
He did not specify which airlines were allegedly not cutting flights or what sanctions might be imposed on them.
Last Saturday and Sunday, airports issued just nine warnings about grounded, canceled or delayed flights due to staffing shortages – a sharp contrast from the previous Saturday, Nov. 8, when the number of warnings reached a record high of 81, according to the transportation department.
With the end of the work stoppage, supervisors will receive back pay and will no longer face threats from Duffy to be fired for absenteeism.
