Shutdown-Triggered Flight Reductions Lifted

The reductions aimed to ease pressure on the air traffic control system, which was strained during the shutdown.

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Updated Nov 18, 2025 3:03 p.m. PST · 7 min read

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Updated on Nov. 16.

Flight reductions at 40 U.S. airports, mandated in the waning days of the 43-day government shutdown, were lifted as of Monday morning, officials announced Sunday.

The reductions, which went into effect Nov. 7, were originally designed to ramp up to 10% of flights at the targeted airports and were billed as a safety measure to ease pressure on air flight controllers who, along with TSA agents, had been forced to work without pay since the shutdown began Oct. 1.

Flight delays and cancellations had been increasing over the course of the shutdown. The situation led Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Bryan Bedford to jointly declare the emergency order mandating the flight reductions earlier this month.

Reductions started at 4% and had ramped up to 6% by Nov. 12, when Congress narrowly passed a funding package to end the shutdown. Federal officials initially kept them frozen at 6% to allow the air travel system to restabilize.

In their joint statement lifting the order on Sunday, Duffy and Bedford cited a “steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities” since the shutdown ended. “Staffing-trigger” events are those in which staffing shortages force some change in operations. The statement said there was one staffing-trigger event nationwide on Sunday and eight on Saturday.

On Nov. 8, just as the reductions were going into effect, there were 81 staffing-trigger events.

Congress passes funding package to end shutdown

President Donald Trump signed a spending package Wednesday night, ending the longest-ever government shutdown.

The House of Representatives came back to the Capitol after a seven-week recess to pass a package of measures to end the shutdown on its 43rd day.

The House passed the measures with a 222-209 vote Wednesday evening, largely along party lines. The Senate approved the package Monday after enough Democrats crossed the aisle to give Republicans the 60 votes needed to pass the “minibus” package.

Some agencies are telling furloughed workers they are expected back to work on Thursday. The measures will fund the government through the end of January.

The minibus also includes three bills that will fund military construction, the Department of Veterans of Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and legislative branch operations. The package will fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a government program that provides food benefits to low-income Americans, through September 2026.

The package also includes a provision to rehire government employees laid off during the shutdown. Soon after the shutdown, the White House sent notices to at least 4,100 workers in seven departments. Days later, however, a federal judge temporarily blocked the layoffs. The bill will ensure the workers are not only rehired, but also receive backpay. In addition, the bill prohibits any other mass layoffs of federal workers through Jan. 30.

Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the Senate had voted on — and failed to pass — a GOP-backed funding stopgap to end the shutdown 14 times. Throughout the shutdown, Democrats have sought concessions on health care spending.

Democrats didn’t receive their biggest demand: extended health care subsidies and rollbacks to cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that were included in the one big, beautiful bill act. But there was one key inclusion in the package: In December, the Senate must hold a vote on Democrats’ Affordable Care Act Bill. There is no such guarantee for the House.

The threat of another — albeit partial — shutdown isn’t over. The continuing resolution only provides funding for certain departments and programs through Jan. 30.

What happens now?

Federal workers were expected back at the office on Thursday. According to Federal News Network, 670,000 federal employees were furloughed and 730,000 have been working without pay.
The spending plan passed this week guarantees backpay for furloughed workers, which had been called into question by the White House. The timetable for all federal workers to receive backpay is unclear, but air traffic controllers will get the first 70% of their backpay as soon as this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced.
Full SNAP payments to most states will resume almost immediately, a USDA spokesperson said Wednesday. The timeline for states to distribute the funds may vary.
Head Start early-childhood programs in 17 states were closed during the shutdown; they may take up to two weeks to reopen.
Air travel will slowly come back to normal. During the shutdown, the administration imposed flight restrictions at 40 airports. Duffy said the FAA would continue restricting 6% of flights until further notice.
National museums will reopen on a “rolling basis” by Monday, according to an announcement from the Smithsonian Institution.

What has happened since the shutdown began?

On Nov. 5, the U.S. government shutdown became the longest in history. Prior to this, the longest-ever shutdown lasted 35 days. The shutdown has inflicted a slew of hardships on federal workers, social benefits recipients and travelers:

Many thousands of federal workers are on furlough while all other essential staff continue to report without pay. In the shutdown’s third week, most federal workers received partial paychecks for work through Sept. 30. Multiple bills to pay federal workers during the shutdown failed in the Senate. However, the White House found ways to pay members of the military and the FBI. Typically, workers receive back pay for the time missed during a shutdown, a practice codified in 2019 under the bipartisan Government Employee Fair Treatment Act. However, the White House budget office issued a memorandum challenging the guarantee of backpay.

Thousands of flights have been canceled since the shutdown began. On Nov. 7, air traffic in 40 “high traffic” markets was reduced by 10% as many air traffic controllers and TSA agents, forced to work without pay, called out sick. Safety concerns were cited as the reason for the reduction.
Certain benefit programs, financial aid disbursements and IRS verifications have been delayed.
Federal courts across the country have run out of funds, forcing them closed or running with limited operations. The Supreme Court remains open, but the building is closed to the public.
SNAP funding had been set to halt on Nov. 1. But following rulings in two federal court cases, the White House agreed to partially fund SNAP, cutting payments to participants in half.

» Stay informed: Check out our news hub for all the latest.

Why did the government shut down?

Every year, Congress is supposed to pass 12 spending bills to keep the government’s lights on. These appropriations bills fund those programs already approved by Congress, including defense, the IRS, food assistance, veterans’ benefits and national parks.

The deadline to fund programs for the next fiscal year — in this case 2025-2026 — is always Oct. 1. Without passing appropriations bills or approving a stopgap that kicks the deadline down the road, the government shuts down.

Why didn’t Congress pass the funding bills? The two parties are deadlocked over Democrats’ demands to permanently extend expiring Obamacare subsidies and roll back recent Medicaid cuts in the “one, big beautiful bill.”

In the past few funding cycles, Congress has relied on multiple short-term continuing resolutions to keep the government temporarily running.

How long did the government shutdown last?

At 43 days, the current government shutdown is the longest in history. There have been 21 shutdowns since 1976 and most are short-lived — a few hours or days, at the most.

There hasn’t been a shutdown since the 2018-2019 shutdown, which lasted 35 days. The reason for that shutdown was a dispute over funding for Trump’s border wall in his first term.

Before that there was a 16-day shutdown in 2013 as negotiations over the Affordable Care Act dragged on. In 1995 and 1996, two shutdowns totaled 26 days.

What happens when the government shuts down?

Federal workers have borne the brunt of the shutdown’s impact.

During a shutdown, there are ripple effects on delivery of government services and programs.

What’s affected immediately:

National parks may close or operate without services.
Federal student aid application processing could be delayed. The shutdown coincides with the opening of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Food and drug inspections will be delayed.
The IRS can’t verify income and Social Security numbers, which could cause delays for some mortgages and other loan approvals, as well as tax refunds.

What will keep running, to a point:

Flights will still operate, but there could be delays if TSA agents and air traffic controllers, who are considered essential employees, decide to call out of work, leading to staff shortages. Even small shortages can have a big impact: During a 2019 government shutdown, the absence of just 10 air traffic controllers at two airports grounded flights and caused delays for the Eastern Seaboard. (Read more on how the shutdown affects travel.)

Social Security and Medicare will keep going, but some administrative functions may be suspended, and telehealth appointments may be interrupted.
Unemployment benefits will continue — states administer compensation — but there could be application processing delays if the shutdown lasts long enough.
Food benefits through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the accompanying WIC program will continue — both run on contingency funds. WIC funding will only last one month, and SNAP could be strained after 30 days, as well.

What isn’t affected:

The postal service — the USPS is not funded by the federal government.
Federal student loan payments — accounts are serviced by private companies.
Public schools will remain open — they’re funded by state and local governments.
Amtrak will continue operations — it is operated by a for-profit company.

See more details on how a government shutdown could impact you.

The shutdown has had trickle-down economic effects. One immediate and direct impact has been a suspension of federal economic data. That data isn't released during a shutdown. That’s a problem because the government’s official data releases guide the markets, the Federal Reserve and business decisions.

For more on the effects of a government shutdown, listen to our Smart Money podcast episode from Sept. 25.

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