FAA Lifts Flight Restrictions After Dems Record-Breaking Shutdown Frustrated Travelers [WATCH]

The Federal Aviation Administration’s flight reduction emergency order will officially end Monday morning, restoring normal operations across the national airspace system following the conclusion of the government shutdown.

The order wass set to be lifted at 6 a.m. ET on Monday based on recommendations from the FAA’s safety team, the agency announced Sunday.

The FAA said the decision followed safety reviews and improvements in air traffic control staffing levels across the United States.

According to the announcement, staffing has largely returned to normal since the shutdown ended.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency’s safety personnel ensured continuity throughout the shutdown period.

“I want to thank the FAA’s dedicated safety team for keeping our skies secure during the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history and the country’s patience for putting safety first,” Duffy said in a statement.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, controllers have returned to their posts and normal operations can resume.”

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Duffy added that renewed hiring efforts would move forward.

“Now we can refocus our efforts on surging controller hiring and building the brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve,” he said.

FAA ends emergency flight cuts at the nation’s busiest airports as airlines slowly rebound from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history pic.twitter.com/eixHqlAw89

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The FAA provided updated staffing data from the days leading up to the order’s removal.

The agency reported six staffing triggers on Friday, eight on Saturday, and one on Sunday.

The FAA said those figures are consistent with pre-shutdown conditions. By comparison, the agency recorded 81 staffing triggers on Nov. 8.

With the order lifted, restrictions placed on various aviation operations will also end.

The announcement said that limits on general aviation operations at 12 airports would be rescinded, as well as restrictions on visual flight rule approaches at facilities experiencing staffing triggers.

The end of the order also removes limits on commercial space launches and reentries, parachute operations, and photo missions.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the move reflects improvements in staffing and system performance.

“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations,” Bedford said.

“I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and for their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”

The emergency order had required flight reductions at 40 U.S. airports.

On Friday, Duffy and Bedford announced that those required reductions would be lowered from 6 percent to 3 percent as the government reopened after the record-setting shutdown.

The reduction took effect Saturday at 6 a.m. following a recommendation from the FAA safety and operations team.

The FAA’s decision marks the full restoration of air traffic operations following weeks of disruptions tied to staffing shortages during the shutdown period.