US Lifts Flight Limits Before Thanksgiving Travel

The U.S. Department of Transportation has lifted its emergency order to reduce flights nationwide

sarah

Nov 17, 2025 - 21:18

US Lifts Flight Limits Before Thanksgiving Travel

The U.S. Department of Transportation has lifted its emergency order to reduce flights nationwide, stating that sufficient air traffic controllers are now reporting to work to address safety concerns.

During the government shutdown that began in October, there was a surge in absenteeism among air traffic controllers, who were required to work without pay as essential employees, leading to delays or cancellations of flights at airports.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) subsequently ordered airlines to reduce scheduled flights starting November 7th to avoid safety issues.

Since the shutdown ended last week, the department said the number of employees has been "steadily increasing," just in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel season.

According to major travel group AAA, more than 6 million people are expected to fly in the U.S. during the Thanksgiving holiday—an increase of nearly 2% compared to last year. According to AAA, this period is one of the busiest holiday seasons for travel in the U.S.

"Controllers have returned to their posts and normal operations can resume," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in announcing the lifting of the emergency order. "We can now focus our efforts on increasing controller hiring and building the new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve."

One of the most visible consequences of the 43-day shutdown, the longest in US history, was the absence of air traffic controllers. Many controllers said they were forced to take second jobs to compensate for lost wages, and many of those who did report to work reported experiencing stress and fatigue.

Airports struggled to keep flights on time, sometimes relying on control towers located miles away to direct planes in. The already existing shortage of controllers exacerbated the problem.

The emergency order called for a 10% reduction in US domestic flights, and thousands of flights were canceled and even more delayed in the first week of November.

According to the announcement ending the order, the FAA is "aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers during the emergency order. The agency is reviewing and evaluating enforcement options."

It did not provide any details about which airlines allegedly failed to reduce flights and how they might be penalized.

Last Saturday and Sunday, airports issued only nine alerts for flights being grounded, canceled, or delayed due to staffing shortages—a stark contrast to last Saturday, November 8, when these alerts reached a record high of 81, according to the Department of Transportation.

With the shutdown ending, controllers will receive their back pay and will no longer face threats of termination from Duffy for absenteeism.