The number of flight reductions at 40 airports throughout the country is expected to remain at only 6% instead of the 10% total that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced last week.
The reason for the shift is due to a larger number of air traffic controllers returning to work than previously expected, the Department of Transportation announced, the Associated Press reported. The change comes as the federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, officially ended on Wednesday after President Donald Trump signed the government funding bill into law.
The initial reductions were implemented last week due to the shutdown and a shortage of air traffic controllers. This led to safety concerns regarding air traffic, and as a precaution, the number of flights decreased at 40 major U.S. airports.
“I anticipate there will be additional disruptions, there will be frustration. We are working with the airlines. They’re going to work with passengers, but in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible,” Duffy said last week. “The administrator is going to talk about all of the tools we’re going to deploy. One of them, though, is going to be that there is going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations.”
“This is not based on what airline … has more flights out of what location. This is about where is the pressure and how do we alleviate the pressure,” Duffy added.
A ramp-up plan to the 10% cut total was introduced last Friday to mitigate chaos during the reduction transition process, with only 4% of flights initially being canceled.
AIRPORTS SEE 6% FLIGHT REDUCTION TUESDAY, EVEN AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WINDS DOWN
Duffy said on Wednesday that the number of flight reductions will remain at 6%, as Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Department officials analyze when the standard number of flights before the shutdown can safely resume, according to the Associated Press.
“If the FAA safety team determines the trend lines are moving in the right direction, we’ll put forward a path to resume normal operations,” said Duffy.
