After a week of curtailed flights and mounting delays, the nation’s air system is finally getting a reset.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Sunday that it will lift its emergency order limiting traffic at 40 major airports – including San Francisco International and Oakland International – allowing airlines to resume regular schedules beginning at 3 a.m. Monday.
The restrictions had been in place since early November during the record 43-day government shutdown, which led to severe staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities.
The decision followed a safety review showing “a steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities,” according to a joint statement by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
“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,” Duffy said.
Bedford added, “Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations.”
The FAA lifted nationwide flight limits Sunday, in time for Thanksgiving travel. (Gabrielle Lurie/S.F. Chronicle)
For Bay Area travelers, the change marks the end of a volatile stretch that began with delays and cancellations – especially on short-haul West Coast routes – and gradually eased as controllers returned to work.
Nearly a third of flights at SFO were disrupted early last week. By Friday, conditions had largely stabilized, with just 2% of flights canceled or delayed and average waits of about 15 minutes.
Oakland and San José airports also saw early spikes but have since improved.
Nationally, the picture is brighter as well. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that fewer than 1% of flights were canceled over the weekend, while FlightAware tracked 315 cancellations Saturday and 149 Sunday – the lowest levels since the FAA order took effect.
The agency had already scaled back its restrictions from 6% of all flights at the height of the shutdown to 3% on Friday as staffing levels improved.
The lifted order also ends several other temporary limits, including restrictions on general aviation flights, certain visual-flight-rule approaches and overnight commercial space launches.
Still, the FAA noted it is “aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order” and is reviewing possible enforcement actions.
Airlines say they expect to restore full capacity quickly ahead of the Thanksgiving rush, with United – SFO’s largest carrier – continuing to prioritize hub-to-hub and long-haul routes.
Travelers are advised to check airline apps for updates as aircraft and crews reposition early in the week.
This article originally published at FAA ends flight limits after shutdown as SFO and Oakland return to normal.