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3w ago

House Set to Vote on Shutdown Deal as FAA Keeps 6% Flight Cuts at 40 Airports

The FAA says flight caps will stay in place until staffing improves based on safety data.

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George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, is one of several major airports seeing long lines recently at security checkpoints.
With flight changes and cancellations afoot, in some places “rental cars are getting to be either unavailable or come at a premium,” one travel expert said.
Flights on smaller regional jets are often among the first to be cut.

Overview

  • The agency is holding a 6% reduction at major hubs, with increases to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday unless conditions change.
  • Since Nov. 7, roughly 9,500 flights have been canceled nationwide; by Wednesday morning hundreds more were scrubbed, including about 300 at United alone.
  • Officials signal the caps will not be lifted immediately after reopening, noting staffing triggers fell from 81 on Saturday to four on Tuesday as attendance improved.
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says controllers should receive about 70% of back pay within 24–48 hours once the bill passes, with the remainder arriving about a week later.
  • A longstanding shortfall of about 3,000 certified controllers has been compounded by accelerated retirements, and airlines and experts expect several days to a week for operations to normalize.