After a record 43-day shutdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed legislation, restarting distribution of food assistance grants, and paying hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including air traffic controllers.

In light of this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still keeping in place its 6% reduction across domestic airports in the United States as they play a wait-and-see game. The FAA noted an increase in returning controllers in the lead up to the signing of the legislation, but says it still needs to assess the staffing situation as it slowly transitions back to normal operations.

“President Trump’s message has been heard loud and clear: controllers will be made whole quickly. The FAA safety team is encouraged to see our air traffic control staffing surge, and they feel comfortable with pausing the reduction schedule to give us time to review the airspace,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “The data is going to guide what we do because the safety of the American people comes first. If the FAA safety team determines the trend lines are moving in the right direction, we’ll put forward a path to resume normal operations.”

“Our top priority at the FAA is, and always will be, safety,” said Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford. “The data shows that controller staffing is improving rapidly, which allows us to hold flight reductions at six percent while maintaining the highest levels of safety in our airspace. We’ll continue to monitor system performance hour by hour, and we won’t hesitate to make further adjustments if needed.”

With that in mind, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said reductions could remain in place well into 2026, citing the two-month recovery time in 2019 following that federal shutdown lasting 35 days.

These are the 40 airports across the United States which will see reduced operations:

  • Anchorage Ted Stevens International (ANC)
  • Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International (ATL)
  • Boston Logan International (BOS)
  • Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
  • Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
  • Dallas Love Field (DAL)
  • Washington Ronald Reagan National (DCA)
  • Denver International (DEN)
  • Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
  • Detroit Metropolitan (DTW)
  • Newark Liberty International (EWR)
  • Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International (FLL)
  • Honolulu International (HNL)
  • Houston Hobby (HOU)
  • Washington Dulles International (IAD)
  • Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH)
  • Indianapolis International (IND)
  • New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
  • Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
  • Los Angeles International (LAX)
  • New York LaGuardia (LGA)
  • Orlando International (MCO)
  • Chicago Midway International (MDW)
  • Memphis International (MEM)
  • Miami International (MIA)
  • Minneapolis–St. Paul International (MSP)
  • Oakland International (OAK)
  • Ontario International (ONT)
  • Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
  • Portland International (PDX)
  • Philadelphia International (PHL)
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
  • San Diego International (SAN)
  • Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF)
  • Seattle–Tacoma International (SEA)
  • San Francisco International (SFO)
  • Salt Lake City International (SLC)
  • Teterboro Airport (TEB)
  • Tampa International (TPA)

American Airlines was the first out the gate, issuing a statement praising the end of the shutdown. They said:

“After 43 days, American Airlines is pleased that the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has ended. The shutdown led to widespread delays and cancellations across the country, in addition to FAA-required cancellations, because federal aviation professionals were not being paid. This impacted hundreds of thousands of our customers.

“We are encouraged by the last few days of operations that have already brought fewer delays and cancellations. That means fewer day-of delays and close-in cancellations for our customers. We are well positioned to recover quickly because of our operational decisions to minimize disruption. Our approach was to limit inconvenience for our customers. We took unprecedented actions to provide flexibility for customers, and we are grateful for their loyalty and patience throughout a challenging period.”

Most U.S. airlines reported successfully managing delays and cancelations, accommodating affected customers as best as possible. Even though it may be some time before controller numbers fully ramp up, more and more passengers have adjusted their bookings to deal with the constrains set by the FAA. It will be interesting to see how the Thanksgiving weekend plays out.

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