ABUJA, Nigeria ( VOICE OF NAIJA)-US flights are set to resume full operations on Monday after the Federal Aviation Administration announced the end of reductions imposed during the government shutdown.
The FAA said on Sunday evening that the restrictions would be lifted and that “normal operations can resume” nationwide from 6:00 am Washington time (1100 GMT) on Monday.
Thousands of flights had been cancelled due to staffing shortages during the shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days.
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Ten percent of domestic flights were cut at 40 of the country’s busiest airports because of a lack of control tower personnel, many of whom were required to work without pay as the budget impasse persisted.
The industry faced additional pressure after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold pay from air traffic controllers who called in sick during the shutdown, accusing them of being unpatriotic.
Although the shutdown ended on Wednesday, flight schedules still saw a three percent reduction over the weekend, as the FAA noted that some airlines had not fully complied with the imposed restrictions.
“Now we can refocus our efforts on surging controller hiring and building the brand new, state of the art air traffic control system,” Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
The lifting of the restrictions comes just days before the expected spike in travel for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 27.
AFP