After more than six weeks of mounting frustration for travelers, airlines, and federal workers alike, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on November 16, 2025, that it is lifting all commercial flight restrictions at 40 major U.S. airports. The move comes as a direct response to the end of the country’s longest government shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days and sent shockwaves through the nation’s air travel system. Airlines can resume their regular schedules beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern Time on November 17, a welcome relief for millions of Americans eyeing the busy Thanksgiving travel period just around the corner.
The restrictions, which were first imposed on November 7, 2025, were a drastic but, according to officials, necessary step. As staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities worsened during the shutdown, the FAA issued an unprecedented order to limit traffic in the skies. Initially, airlines were ordered to reduce flights by 4%, a figure that increased to 6% by November 10 as the crisis deepened, according to Politico and Al Jazeera. The FAA had even considered slashing up to 10% of flights if the shutdown dragged on, a scenario that would have spelled chaos for the industry and travelers alike.
The impact was immediate and severe. On November 9, more than 2,900 flights were canceled—one of the worst days for U.S. air travel in recent memory, according to FlightAware. Tens of thousands of delays rippled through the system, leaving travelers stranded and airline schedules in disarray. The disruptions became one of the most visible consequences of the funding stalemate in Washington, with airports in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and other major hubs hit especially hard.
Behind the scenes, air traffic controllers—deemed essential federal workers—were required to keep working without pay, missing two paychecks as the impasse dragged on. Many began calling in sick or seeking second jobs to make ends meet, further exacerbating the staffing crunch at already stretched control centers. According to TheTravel, even Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and other key airport staff faced similar pressures.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the flight cuts, citing “worrisome safety data” that showed an uptick in planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions, and mounting pilot concerns about controllers’ responsiveness. While Duffy has not released the specific data, he insisted the move was necessary to “ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages.” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford echoed this sentiment, stating, “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.”
Indeed, the numbers tell a story of rapid improvement following the shutdown’s end. Staffing-trigger events—instances when the number of available air traffic controllers fell below safe levels—plummeted from a high of 81 on November 8 to just one on November 16, according to the FAA. By the time the restrictions were lifted, cancellations had dropped to just 149 flights on November 16, well below the 3% mandated cut, and on-time departures at the affected airports reached 91%, a figure above the national average.
The government shutdown officially ended on November 12, 2025, when President Donald Trump signed a bill to resume funding after a protracted standoff between Republicans and Democrats. As federal workers began returning to their posts and receiving back pay, the FAA quickly moved to scale back restrictions: first freezing cuts at 6%, then lowering them to 3% on November 14, and finally announcing a full return to normal operations on November 16.
Still, the path to recovery is not without its challenges. Jim Gee, a former air traffic controller and instructor, told TheTravel that “controllers are a little bit beaten down” and morale may take time to recover. “The faith in the system may not be there for a controller,” he said, raising questions about how quickly the workforce will rebound. Secretary Duffy acknowledged these concerns, noting that it could take “up to a week to get back to normal, which is right before significant Thanksgiving travel.”
For many Americans, the timing of the FAA’s announcement could not be better. Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year, and the specter of ongoing flight disruptions had travelers scrambling for alternatives. According to travel search engine Wanderu and bus operators Megabus and Greyhound, demand for bus and train travel surged as flight bookings slowed in early November. Amtrak even reported record-breaking Thanksgiving reservations, prompting it to increase capacity along its busiest routes.
Industry experts, however, predict a swift rebound for air travel. Mike Arnot, a spokesperson for aviation analytics company Cirium, told The Guardian that “now that the controllers are going to get their back pay, finally, it probably will relatively quickly re-establish stability in the US airline industry. Thanksgiving shouldn’t be impacted at all.” Cirium’s data showed that by November 16, the cancellation rate at the 40 affected airports was just 0.25%, with most flights departing on time.
While the FAA’s order has now been lifted, the agency isn’t letting its guard down. It stated that it is “reviewing and assessing enforcement options” following reports that some airlines had not fully complied with the emergency order in recent days. The FAA warned it could impose civil penalties of up to $75,000 per violation for carriers that exceeded the mandated limits, according to Politico.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the flight cuts as a political stunt, a charge the Transportation Department strongly denied. Regardless of the politics, officials on both sides of the aisle have praised the dedication of FAA and aviation industry teams who kept the system running under extraordinary strain. “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,” said Administrator Bedford.
Looking ahead, Secretary Duffy highlighted renewed efforts to address the long-standing shortage of air traffic controllers—a problem decades in the making—and to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system. “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,” Duffy said in a statement.
For now, the lifting of flight restrictions signals a return to something resembling normalcy for America’s aviation system. As planes return to the skies and travelers make their way home for the holidays, the hope is that the turbulence of the past six weeks will soon be a distant memory.
