Federal Aviation Administration lifts restrictions as staffing triggers drop from record 81 to single digits, ending disruption from shutdown
Airlines have been busy restoring regular operations this week following the termination of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) flight reduction emergency order.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford last week confirmed that the flight reduction emergency order would be terminated on Monday 17 November, following the end of the government shutdown on Thursday 13 November.
The FAA said their safety team recommended the termination of the order following their detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the "decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations".
Staffing levels have continued to return to normal since the end of the government shutdown, said the FAA. The positive trend line continued over the weekend, with six staffing triggers on Friday 14 November, eight on Saturday 15 November and only one staffing trigger on Sunday 16 November. That’s in contrast to a record high of 81 staffing triggers on 8 November.
There will also no longer be limits on some general aviation operations at 12 airports and limits on some visual flight rule approaches at facilities with staffing triggers.
The FAA said it is aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order and is reviewing and assessing enforcement options.
The end of the flight reduction emergency order follows a series of flight cuts by the FAA as a result of aviation worker shortages due to the government shutdown.
The FAA had implemented flight cuts of 6% at 40 airports with plans to increase the reduction to 10%. But the reduction was narrowed to 3% on 15 November after a review.
After the shutdown had ended, the US Airforwarders Association (AfA) had called on policymakers to quickly reverse the flight cuts, pointing to the approximately 10,000 flights that had been cancelled and resulting widespread supply chain disruption.
Cirrus Global Advisors had also warned in a LinkedIn post last week that the impact on air cargo would grow, the longer flight restrictions were in place.
"Impact to US Air Cargo Operations on Saturday will remain low, with the 2/3 of US airline cancellations focused on regional aircraft- aircraft that rarely carry air cargo. Look for impacts to increase as the government shutdown prolongs- as larger schedule reductions, including more mainline aircraft, will be required to hit FAA reductions," Cirrus said.
Delta and United were amongst the airlines affected by the order, but United's list of cancelled flights for 15 and 16 November span domestic destinations only. The carrier said on 17 November that it had "resumed our regular schedule and will operate at full capacity".
Delta said on 13 November that it continued "to operate the vast majority of our flight schedule in coordination with the FAA" and chief executive Ed Bastian added that operations were expected to return to normal by the weekend beginning 15 November.
