Overview
- The Department of Transportation kept mandated reductions at 6% for 40 major airports, halting a planned increase to 10% after a rapid drop in air traffic controller callouts.
- President Donald Trump signed the funding bill Wednesday night to end the 43‑day shutdown, yet airlines reported roughly 1,000 cancellations Thursday morning as schedules remain constrained.
- Since the FAA’s restrictions began, more than 10,100 flights have been canceled, with cuts imposed to manage safety risks tied to short-staffed control facilities.
- Controllers are set to receive about 70% of missed pay within 48 hours of reopening, though a broader preexisting shortfall of roughly 3,000 or more controllers continues to limit capacity.
- Airlines expect operations to stabilize over several days to about a week once limits ease, and industry leaders say Thanksgiving travel should largely proceed as planned if safety metrics keep improving.