CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the flight restrictions related to the government shutdown.
All airlines can resume their regular schedules starting at 6 a.m. Monday at the 40 airports that were impacted by the reductions. The list includes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
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The FAA initially started the flight cuts at 4% on Nov. 7 and set a target of 10%. The cuts reached 6% at its peak.
Cancellations saw their highest number on Nov. 9 when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of the FAA order and staffing issues. Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees who worked without pay throughout the shutdown.
The number of canceled flights reached its lowest point this weekend. FlightAware shows that only few dozen flights were canceled at the Atlanta airport between Friday and Sunday.
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Major airlines across the country said last week they were optimistic about getting back to normal operations as quickly as possible.
While his airline had to canceled thousands of flights this month, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said he supported the FAA’s reductions.
“There is no question there was a safety risk,” Bastian said.
The flight reductions end comes right before the busy Thanksgiving travel period.
In its holiday traffic forecast released Monday, AAA expects more than 6 million to travel by air during the Thanksgiving holiday period. That’s a 2% increase compared to last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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