FAA takes first steps to restore flights after US govt shutdown strain

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday halved the number of flights that US airlines must cut from their schedules at 40 airports as the countrys aviation system recovers from a shortage of air traffic controllers during the record government shutdownThe agency said airlines will only have to cancel 337 of their flights beginning at 6 am Saturday instead of 637 Citing safety concerns the FAA first ordered flights reduced at the busy airports on Nov 7 as absences mounted at air traffic facilities and airport towers Controllers were among the federal employees who were required to work while going unpaid during the shutdownCancellations peaked last Sunday at nearly 3000 flights about 1037 of the ones scheduled as a result of the FAA order combined with continued controller shortages and bad weather in parts of the country But the numbers started to improve as the week went on and more controllers returned to work amid news of a possible shutdown deal in Congress prompting the FAA to pause plans for further rate increasesThe rollback comes amid improved staffing levels after the 43day shutdown ended Wednesday night the FAA and Department of Transportation said adding that they will continue to monitor the situation throughout the weekend and evaluate when normal operations can resumeBefore the FAA released its updated guidance airlines already seemed to be anticipating a change Despite the restrictions still in place just 237 of flights scheduled to depart Friday from the US were canceled according to the aviation analytics firm Cirium And by Friday evening the flighttracking site FlightAware was showing just 160 cancellations for SaturdayThe unprecedented order started with 437 cuts that later grew to 637 leading to the cancellation of more than 11800 flights between Nov 7 and Friday The FAA originally had a 1037 target Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly said safety metrics must improve before the order is lifted entirely Duffy hasnt 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 responsesHow 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 arent where theyre supposed to be Airlines for America the trade group of US airlines warned there could be residual effects for daysSome experts predicted the problems could linger longer But airline executives were optimistic that flying could quickly rebound ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel week once the FAA order to cut flights is lifted In an appearance on CBS Mornings after the shutdown ended Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian predicted a return to normalcy a lot faster than people thinkAnd normal for us is an incredibly safe incredibly reliable great experience he said Thanksgiving is going to be a great holiday period of travel The nationwide shortage of controllers isnt 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 to 20 controllers were retiring daily and some younger controllers were leaving the professionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever