Flight restrictions on U.S. terminated, all normal operations resume

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced on Sunday that the flight reduction emergency order is no longer in effect as of 6 a.m. on Monday. The FAA reduced its restrictions to 6% between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time at high-impact airports after the government reopened on Wednesday. The FAA safety team recommended terminating the order after reviewing safety trends and the decline of staffing-trigger events at ATC facilities. Normal operations will now be allowed to resume across the NAS, including the 12 airports that were prohibited from general aviation operations. "I want to thank the FAA's dedicated safety team for keeping our skies secure during the longest government shutdown in our nation's history and the country's patience for putting safety first. Thanks to President Trump's leadership, controllers have returned to their posts and normal operations can resume," said Secretary Duffy. "Now we can refocus our efforts on surging controller hiring and building the brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve." Staffing levels have returned to normal since the end of the government shutdown, according to the FAA. There was only 1 staffing trigger on Sunday, which is a high contrast against the 81 staffing triggers on Nov. 8. "NBAA is pleased the shutdown restrictions have been lifted and that the entire general aviation industry, including business aviation, will be able to serve as a vital link in our nation's transportation system, and a powerful engine for our economy," said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. "We are grateful to all who have worked to ensure the safety and efficiency of the nation's aviation system under extraordinary circumstances." RELATED STORIES: Government begins reopening, FAA amends airport traffic reductions to 6 percent Modern Skies Coalition urges Congress to finish bill to re-open government FAA to implement new restrictions on the 12 busiest airports in the U.S. "We will continue to ensure all operations, commercial and GA, are treated fairly and that our aviation system is not impacted by government shutdowns in the future," said AOPA president Darren Pleasance. "We also look forward to continuing our work to support the hiring and training of additional air traffic controllers and modernizing our nation's air traffic control system." The FAA further stated that it will investigate reports of non-compliant carriers during the emergency order and assess enforcement options.