FAA Officially Ends Shutdown-Driven Flight Restrictions

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight limit, put in place because of the government shutdown, is officially over.

The FAA had been limiting air traffic at 40 of the U.S.’s busiest airports in response to the government shutdown, which ended last Thursday when President Donald Trump signed a deal to fund the government through Jan. 30. The limits were enforced to ease pressure on stretched Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs), who had been working without pay.

The original plan was for flight cuts to start at 4% and potentially reach as high as 20% at some airports if the shutdown had continued. Fortunately for the travel industry, cancellations did not come close to that 20% number after Congress struck a deal to reopen the government.

Still, even with the deal, the directive caused major disruptions, including one day where 50% of Delta Air Lines’ flights were canceled, and some days saw up to 30% of flights delayed at major hubs like Chicago O’Hare (ORD), New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Newark Liberty International (EWR).

“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and for their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”

Probably the best news for travel is that things are returning to normal before the Thanksgiving travel week, which tends to be the busiest week of the year. AAA projects 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period from Tuesday, Nov. 25 to Monday, Dec. 1, which would set a record. The projection includes 6 million flyers, a 2% increase compared to 2024, and another record.