FAA Lifts ATC Restrictions, General Aviation Bans

The FAA has terminated an emergency order mandating a reduction of flights at 40 busy airports in the U.S. and a subsequent ban on general aviation operations at 12 of them, effective today. “This means normal operations can resume across the National Airspace System (NAS),” the agency said in a statement released yesterday.

According to the FAA, the decision to terminate the order followed detailed reviews of safety trends and a steady decline of “staffing-trigger events” at air traffic control facilities. Staffing triggers had declined to eight on Saturday, compared with 81 a week earlier. The triggers eased following the end of the six-week government shutdown on November 12.

These triggers led the FAA to release an order on November 7 that called for the step-down of operations overall and subsequently followed with the ban on general aviation operations at 12 specific airports on November 10. While this was going on, a few national newspapers were printing articles alleging that business jets were unaffected by the step-down in operations and suggesting air traffic control privatization options should be considered.

In lifting the restrictions, the FAA noted that it was aware of reports of violations of noncompliance by air carriers and is “reviewing and assessing enforcement options.”

“I want to thank the FAA’s dedicated safety team for keeping our skies secure during the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history and the country’s patience for putting safety first,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “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.”

The business and general aviation community praised the efforts of the government to keep the skies safe during the unprecedented shutdown. At the same time, they are cautious to ensure such steps do not recur.

“We will continue to ensure all operations, commercial and [general aviation], are treated fairly and that our aviation system is not impacted by government shutdowns in the future,” said AOPA president and CEO Darren Pleasance. “We also look forward to continuing our work to support the hiring and training of additional air traffic controllers and modernizing our nation’s air traffic control system.”