Airlines are optimistic about a quick recovery ahead of Thanksgiving once FAA ends flight cuts

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer Airlines are optimistic they can resume normal operations just a sparse days after the establishment lifts its order to cut particular flights at busy airports but it s not clear how soon that will happen even though the federal shutdown is over Related Articles Why specific HBCUs and female athletes fear being left behind in new era of college sports States scramble to send full SNAP food benefits to millions of people after governing body shutdown ends Families of two babies sickened by infantile botulism sue ByHeart over recalled formula Relic from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is returned plus from Michigan Ammonia gas leak from a tanker truck in Oklahoma sickens dozens and forces evacuations The Federal Aviation Administration did announce Wednesday night that airlines won t have to cut more than of flights at those airports because air traffic controller staffing has improved significantly in the last sparse days Originally the order that took effect last Friday called for those flight cuts to increase to Thursday and top out at on Friday A number of air traffic controllers missed work while they were going without pay during the shutdown and the spike in understaffing at airport towers and regional control centers prompted the flight cut order due to concerns about safety The existing shortage of several thousand controllers is so bad that even a small number of absences in specific locations caused problems Executives at FAA and the Transportation Department didn t offer any updates Thursday morning about when they will decide to lift the order Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has commented the decision will be based on the safety figures that experts at the FAA are watching closely The airlines say they will be ready and expect that normal operations will resume within three or four days after the order is lifted Certain experts have suggested that problems might linger longer than that and could affect Thanksgiving excursion so it is complex to predict whether the airlines will be able to recover from this as fast as they do after a major snowstorm disrupts their operations and leaves planes and crews out of position The airlines focused their cuts on smaller regional routes to minimize the impact on their main hubs By late Thursday morning about flights had been cancelled across the country We are eager to resume normal operations over the next minimal days once the FAA gives clearance We look forward to welcoming million passengers a new record to our flights during the upcoming Thanksgiving journey period beginning next Friday the Airlines for America contract group declared Thursday Duffy has disclosed that controllers and other FAA employees should receive of their back pay within - hours of the end of the shutdown with the rest to come over the next couple paychecks The financial pressure on controllers drove particular of them to seek out side jobs to help make ends meet and call out of work while they dealt with the stress Last Saturday the staff shortages peaked when different FAA facilities warned they were running low on workers forcing the airlines to cut additional flights On Thursday morning the FAA didn t list any staffing warnings at airports and other radar facilities across the country American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and Chief Operating Officer David Seymour notified employees in a letter Thursday that they are already seeing improvements as controller staffing stabilized over the last day or so even though more flight cuts will be needed until FAA lifts the order But travelers should already be seeing fewer delays and cancellations on the day of their flights The two executives stated they believe American Airlines planning and efforts to minimize disruptions will help the carrier bounce back fast and deliver a strong Thanksgiving operation noting that millions of travelers deserve the certainty