FAA halves flight cuts to 3% as airlines push for end

• The FAA announced on Friday reduced required flight cuts at major airports from 6% to 3% starting on Saturday.
• Airlines are pushing for the FAA to end flight cuts entirely after the government shutdown ended on Wednesday.
• House Democrats are also requesting safety data from the FAA following the decision.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it halved a requirement that airlines reduce domestic flights at 40 major airports from 6% to 3% starting Saturday to address air traffic control safety concerns after the end of the government shutdown.

Airlines have been pushing for the FAA to end the required cuts entirely and were largely not in compliance with the FAA order that required the 6% cut on Friday. It remains to be seen if they will be in compliance with the 3% order.

"The 3% reduction will remain in place while the FAA monitors system performance throughout the weekend and evaluates whether normal operations can resume," the FAA said.

Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said airlines canceled just 2% of overall flights Friday, down from 3.5% on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, air traffic controllers and other FAA employees began receiving back pay equal to about 70% of what they are owed, excluding overtime.

Airlines have been privately making the case to the FAA that it is time to end the cuts, and some said earlier they plan to cut few or no flights on Saturday, officials told Reuters.

The FAA opted on Wednesday to ease those required cancellations after disruptions due to air traffic control absences declined dramatically as Congress voted to reopen the government after a 43-day shutdown. The FAA had initially planned to hike the cuts to 8% on Thursday and 10% on Friday.

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Separately, a group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Rick Larsen, the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, asked the administration on Friday to turn over the specific safety data and how it compares to the last six months. "It appears that the administration made this decision without adequate coordination with key aviation stakeholders," the Democrats wrote.

United Airlines said it had canceled 134 flights for Friday, or almost 3% of its flights, after canceling 222 flights on Thursday.

The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. Many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown led to them working without pay.

Air traffic absences led to tens of thousands of flight cancellations and delays since Oct. 1, when the 43-day shutdown began.

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