U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford have announced an emergency order to maintain flight reductions at six percent. This decision follows a recommendation from the Federal Aviation Administration's safety team, based on improved air traffic controller staffing metrics.
The order will keep the current reduction level as the FAA evaluates whether operations can return to normal. A significant decrease in controller callouts has been observed, with only eleven staffing triggers reported on November 11 and four on November 12, down from a peak of 81 on November 8.
Secretary Duffy said, "President Trump’s message has been heard loud and clear: controllers will be made whole quickly." He emphasized that data would guide decisions to ensure public safety. Administrator Bedford added, "Our top priority at the FAA is, and always will be, safety," noting that improved staffing allows for maintaining flight reductions while ensuring safety.
The emergency order replaces a previous mandate for increased reductions and continues restrictions for certain operations at specific airports. These include some general aviation activities at 12 airports and commercial space launches restricted to nighttime hours.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has been involved in various initiatives recently, including awarding $19.6 million in grants to small shipyards (https://www.maritime.dot.gov/newsroom/maritime-administration-awards-nearly-20-million-funding-strengthen-us-shipyard-economic) and announcing winners of the Inclusive Design Challenge (https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/anniversary-ada-usdot-announces-winners-its-first-ever-inclusive-design-challenge). Additionally, new guidance under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was released to help states prepare for extreme weather events (https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-administration-announces-new-protect-formula-program-73-billion-bipartisan).
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