The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it is lifting all restrictions on commercial flights that were imposed at 40 major airports during the country's longest government shutdown.
Airlines can resume their regular flight schedules beginning Monday at 6 a.m. EST, the agency said.
The announcement was made in a joint statement by Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
Citing safety concerns as staffing shortages grew at air traffic control facilities during the shutdown, the FAA issued an unprecedented order to limit traffic in the skies. It had been in place since Nov. 7, affecting thousands of flights across the country.
Impacted airports included large hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Atlanta.
The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA on Friday rolled the restrictions back to 3%, citing continued improvements in air traffic controller staffing since the record 43-day shutdown ended on Nov. 12.
Thanksgiving travelers still planning to fly - but nervously
CBS News Transportation Correspondent Kris Van Cleave is at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport looked at what people can expect if they plan to travel for thanksgiving next week.
AAA expects 82 million to travel at least 50 miles during the holiday week. That would be a new record even as some may opt to switch their travel from flying to driving because of lingering uncertainty from the shutdown travel troubles.
"Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of all of the holidays," Aixa Diaz from AAA says. "It is the single busiest holiday when it comes to travel, and they're going to make it happen one way or the other. I think a lot of air travelers have been taking a wait and see approach for Thanksgiving and riding out these recent cancellations and recent reductions in the hopes that their flight is going to be OK come Thanksgiving week."
Aviation analytics company Sirium says while airline bookings will be up this Thanksgiving over 2024, the pace of bookings dropped 50% during the first week of November.
"We were really nervous actually to make Thanksgiving plans, so we kind of waited till last minute," says one traveler.
Still, the nation's airlines predict they'll fly a record 31 million.
"Thanksgiving. was always a big push for us," explains American Airlines chief operating officer David Seymour. "We're expecting Thanksgiving to be like any other Thanksgiving, to be very full aircraft."
The vast majority will drive. AAA expects more than 73 million will hit the road, but that number could be higher if some chose not to fly. Drivers will find gas prices about the same as last year, a little over $3 a gallon.
Flight cancelations drop over the weekend
The number of flights canceled this weekend was at its lowest point since the order took effect and was well below the 3% cuts FAA was requiring for Saturday and Sunday. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed that less than 1% of all flights were canceled this weekend. The flight tracking website FlightAware said 149 flights were cut Sunday and 315 were canceled on Saturday.
The FAA statement said an agency safety team recommended the order be rescinded after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.”
The statement said the FAA “is aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order. The agency is reviewing and assessing enforcement options.” It did not elaborate.
Cancellations hit their highest point Nov. 9, when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of the FAA order, ongoing controller shortages and severe weather in parts of the country. Conditions began to improve throughout last week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress was close to a deal to end the shutdown. That progress also prompted the FAA to pause plans for further rate increases.
The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Duffy had said worrisome safety data showed the move was necessary to ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities as the shutdown entered its second month and flight disruptions began to pile up.
Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees who had to continue working without pay throughout the shutdown. They 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 runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.
Airline leaders have expressed optimism that operations would rebound in time for the Thanksgiving travel period after the FAA lifted its order.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.