Air traffic on the way to normalcy in the United States
The end of the shutdown in the United States already translates into the return of air capacity and the reduction in delays according to US experts.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford already announced on Wednesday that flight reductions would be frozen at the current 6% level following a recommendation from the agency’s safety team. The 6% hold will remain in place as the FAA continues to assess whether the system can gradually return to normal operations. Originally, the percentage in air capacity reduction across the USA was planned to reach 10% this week end.
Since the end of the shutdown, there has been a rapid decline in controller callouts. Strong staffing levels suggest that a further ramp up in-flight reductions are not necessary to keep the traveling public safe.
Improvement already visible
“Our top priority at the FAA is, and always will be, safety,” said Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford. “The data shows that controller staffing is improving rapidly, which allows us to hold flight reductions at six% while maintaining the highest levels of safety in our airspace. We’ll continue to monitor system performance hour by hour, and we won’t hesitate to make further adjustments if needed.”
On Thursday, some 1,035 flights into, within and out of the U.S. were canceled, according to FlightAware, a tracking website for air movements. Delays affected 4,023 flights as well.
This Friday November 14, FlightAware records so far (late morning European time) 450 delays within, into, or out of the United States today and 605 cancellations…
In an official release from Delta Air Lines, airline’s CEO Ed Bastian shared his optimism on CBS Mornings. “The system should return to normal by the weekend…and normal for us is an incredibly safe, incredibly reliable, great experience,” Bastian said. “Thanksgiving is going to be a great holiday period of travel.”
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