FAA lifts order slashing flights, allowing commercial airlines to resume
their regular schedules
[November 17, 2025] By
RIO YAMAT and JOSH FUNK
The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it is lifting all
restrictions on commercial flights that were imposed at 40 major
airports during the country's longest government shutdown.
Airlines can resume their regular flight schedules beginning Monday at 6
a.m. EST, the agency said.
The announcement was made in a joint statement by Transportation
Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
Citing safety concerns as staffing shortages grew at air traffic control
facilities during the shutdown, the FAA issued an unprecedented order to
limit traffic in the skies. It had been in place since Nov. 7, affecting
thousands of flights across the country.
Impacted airports included large hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles
and Atlanta.
The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA on
Friday rolled the restrictions back to 3%, citing continued improvements
in air traffic controller staffing since the record 43-day shutdown
ended on Nov. 12.
The number of flights canceled this weekend was at its lowest point
since the order took effect and was well below the 3% cuts FAA was
requiring for Saturday and Sunday. Data from aviation analytics firm
Cirium showed that less than 1% of all flights were canceled this
weekend. The flight tracking website FlightAware said 149 flights were
cut Sunday and 315 were canceled on Saturday.
The FAA statement said an agency safety team recommended the order be
rescinded after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady
decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.”
The statement said the FAA “is aware of reports of non-compliance by
carriers over the course of the emergency order. The agency is reviewing
and assessing enforcement options.” It did not elaborate.
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An American Airlines aircraft takes off from Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025,
in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
 Cancellations hit their highest
point Nov. 9, when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of
the FAA order, ongoing controller shortages and severe weather in
parts of the country. Conditions began to improve throughout last
week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress
was close to a deal to end the shutdown. That progress also prompted
the FAA to pause plans for further rate increases.
The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Duffy
had said worrisome safety data showed the move was necessary to ease
pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing
shortages at air traffic control facilities as the shutdown entered
its second month and flight disruptions began to pile up.
Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees who had to
continue working without pay throughout the shutdown. They missed
two paychecks during the impasse.
Duffy hasn’t 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’ responses.
Airline leaders have expressed optimism that operations would
rebound in time for the Thanksgiving travel period after the FAA
lifted its order.
___
Yamat reported from Las Vegas and Funk reported from Omaha,
Nebraska.
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