The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal
Aviation Administration have terminated the mandated capacity cuts at 40
high-traffic airports as of 6 a.m. Eastern time Monday, the agencies announced
Sunday, so "normal operations can resume across the National Airspace
System."
The cuts were designed
to help curtail increasing delays and cancellations as a growing number of
air traffic controllers called in sick during the government shutdown, which began
on Oct. 1. The cuts
began Nov. 7, with a 4 percent reduction in flights, which increased to 6
percent on Nov. 11. The cuts were to ramp up to 10 percent by Nov. 14, however,
late Nov. 13, U.S. President Donald Trump signed
a bill that ended the record 43-day shutdown.
DOT and FAA on Nov. 15 had lowered the required capacity
cuts to 3 percent as air traffic controller staffing levels improved.
Flight cancellations within, into or out of the United
States totaled 654on Nov. 14 , 315 on Nov. 15, and 163 on Sunday, according to
airline tracker FlightAware. As of 11:20 a.m. Eastern time, 45 flights had
been canceled Monday.
RELATED:Travel
Industry Reacts as Government Shutdown Ends, Flight Reductions Continue