WASHINGTON : US authorities confirmed that air travel is gradually stabilising after the shutdown, which began on October 1 and officially ended on Wednesday when President Donald Trump signed a bill extending government funding after it was approved by Congress.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the country’s airspace was finally “seeing progress” after weeks of strain. “Friday was one of the best days our airspace has seen in a while with very few air traffic controllers off work,” he wrote, adding that teams are reviewing data and “working hard to get airspace operations back to normal.”
The prolonged shutdown, the longest in US history, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed and compelled essential personnel, including thousands of air traffic controllers, to work without pay. Absenteeism climbed steadily during the crisis, worsening pressure on an already understaffed workforce.
Despite signs of improvement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to enforce a six percent reduction in domestic flights at 12 of the nation’s busiest airports. The measure, introduced on November 13, remains in effect to help stabilise operations.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that only two percent of scheduled flights were cancelled nationwide on Friday. However, several major hubs, including Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Newark, Dallas Fort Worth and Denver, faced heavier impacts, each seeing around 20 percent of flights cancelled.
The US airspace is recovering after the longest government shutdown in history ended. With President Trump's approval of a funding bill, air traffic is seeing progress, though the FAA continues to enforce flight reductions at key airports. While cancellations have decreased, major hubs like Atlanta and Chicago still experience significant disruptions.