U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford announced on Friday the required flight reductions at 40 U.S. airports will be lowered from 6% to 3%, as the government reopens following a record-breaking shutdown.
The change will go into effect Saturday at 6 a.m., following a recommendation from the FAA safety and operations team.
FAA officials said the decision reflects improvements in air traffic controller staffing levels and a continued decline in staffing-trigger events across the National Airspace System (NAS).
The 3% reduction will remain in place while the FAA monitors system performance throughout the weekend and evaluates whether normal operations can resume.
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There has been a rapid decline in staffing triggers since Saturday’s record high of 81; by Friday, there were just three active triggers.
General aviation operation restrictions remain in place at 12 airports, with some visual flight rule approaches (VFR) and parachute restrictions at facilities with staffing triggers.
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Commercial space launches and reentries also remain limited to between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time.
The 40 affected high-impact airport list remains the same.
Major U.S. airports on the list include: Los Angeles International (LAX), San Francisco International (SFO), Seattle–Tacoma International (SEA) and Portland International (PDX) in the West; Denver International (DEN), Salt Lake City International (SLC), and Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) in the Mountain region; Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW), George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby (HOU) in Texas; and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), Orlando International (MCO), Miami International (MIA) and Tampa International (TPA) in the South.
The list also includes major East Coast hubs such as New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and LaGuardia (LGA), Newark Liberty International (EWR), Philadelphia International (PHL), Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) and Washington Dulles International (IAD), along with Midwestern airports like Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Chicago Midway (MDW), Minneapolis–St. Paul (MSP), Detroit Metropolitan (DTW) and Indianapolis International (IND).
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