With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, it's a huge relief to a lot of American travelers that the Schumer Shutdown is over, and that air travel should be getting back to normal. To that end, on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cut in half the required percentage of canceled flights in some of the nation's busiest airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday halved the number of flights that U.S. airlines must cut from their schedules at 40 airports as the country’s aviation system recovers from a shortage of air traffic controllers during the record government shutdown.
The agency said airlines will only have to cancel 3% of their flights beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday instead of 6%. Citing safety concerns, the FAA first ordered flights reduced at the busy airports on Nov. 7 as absences mounted at air traffic facilities and airport towers. Controllers were among the federal employees who were required to work while going unpaid during the shutdown.
Cancellations peaked last Sunday at nearly 3,000 flights, about 10% of the ones scheduled, as a result of the FAA order combined with continued controller shortages and bad weather in parts of the country. The numbers started to improve as the week went on and more controllers returned to work amid news of a possible shutdown deal in Congress, prompting the FAA to pause plans for further increases.
That shutdown has been... shut down, and things are looking up, if you have holiday flights booked.
Read More: Here's the List of Airports With Reduced Flights Due to the Schumer Shutdown
FAA Data Shows Democrats Endangering American Lives With Schumer Shutdown
But there may be a catch, and it may have something to do with the effectiveness of air-traffic control systems and personnel in some of these airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly said safety metrics must improve before the order is lifted entirely.
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.
The secretary has not indicated how long these issues might take to correct.
Thanksgiving weekend has, for some time, been the busiest travel season of the year, along with the Christmas holiday. The day before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after Thanksgiving are typically the busiest even of this busy season, with millions of Americans taking to the friendly skies to visit family and friends.
There's one more thing: Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is still dealing with a shortage of air traffic controllers:
The nationwide shortage of controllers isn’t new, but the shutdown put a spotlight on the problem and likely made it worse. Duffy said that by the end of the shutdown, 15 to 20 controllers were retiring daily and some younger controllers were leaving the profession.
If you're traveling this holiday season, take it from an old pro: Have contingency plans. Pack enough stuff in your carry-on for an overnight stay. And take an even strain; a delayed or canceled flight isn't the end of the world. Keep calm, work with the airline, and get yourself rebooked.
Things are improving after the end of the Schumer Shutdown. There will still be adjustments, but on the whole, where air travel is concerned, things should now be getting back to some semblance of normal.
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