U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford have announced that the required flight reductions at 40 airports across the United States will be decreased from 6 percent to 3 percent, starting November 15 at 6 a.m. The change follows a recommendation from the FAA's safety and operations team and is attributed to improvements in air traffic controller staffing levels, as well as a decline in staffing-trigger events within the National Airspace System.
According to officials, the new 3 percent reduction will remain while the FAA observes system performance over the weekend and assesses if normal operations can resume.
The number of staffing-trigger events has declined rapidly since reaching a record high of 81 on November 8. The most recent data shows eleven triggers on November 11, thirteen on November 12, four on November 13, and three today.
Certain restrictions will continue despite the reduced flight cuts. These include some general aviation limitations at twelve airports, restrictions on visual flight rule approaches at facilities experiencing staffing triggers, commercial space launches and reentries limited to between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time, as well as limits on parachute operations and photo missions near affected facilities.
The list of forty high-impact airports subject to these changes remains unchanged. It includes major hubs such as Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Miami International Airport (MIA), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), among others.
"The decision reflects improvements in air traffic controller staffing levels and a continued decline in staffing-trigger events across the National Airspace System," said Secretary Duffy and Administrator Bedford in their joint announcement.
