The Federal Aviation Administration has ended its flight-reduction emergency order, allowing air travel to resume normal operations. <\/p>\n
The emergency order was officially lifted Monday at 6 a.m. ET, ending the reductions that caused mass cancellations and delays at airports. <\/p>\n
The cuts, which started with a 4% reduction in flights at 40 major airports on Nov. 7<\/a>, were designed to address fatigue and staffing issues among air traffic controllers amid the record-long government shutdown. <\/p>\n It\u2019s being rolled back now that staffing levels have \u201cstabilized\u201d with the end of the government shutdown<\/a> Wednesday, the FAA said.<\/p>\n The decision, which comes at the beginning of the busy Thanksgiving travel period, was made following an FAA review of “safety trends” and because of “the steady decline of staffing-trigger events<\/a> in air traffic control facilities,” aviation officials said in a news release Sunday. <\/p>\n Just six staffing triggers reported Friday, eight Saturday and one Sunday \u2014 dramatic improvements from the record high of 81 staffing triggers on Nov. 8. <\/p>\n Other restrictions, including some visual flight rule approaches, limits on commercial space launches and parachute operations, will also end. <\/p>\n The FAA noted that it was aware of reports of \u201cnon-compliance by carriers\u201d during the emergency order, and is \u201creviewing and assessing enforcement operations.\u201d It\u2019s not clear what penalties will be for defying the orders.<\/p>\n