(MENAFN) The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Sunday that all commercial flight restrictions at 40 major airports, imposed during the nation’s longest government shutdown, will be lifted.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the emergency order mandating flight reductions will end at 6 am Monday, allowing normal operations to resume across the National Airspace System (NAS).

The move follows recommendations from the FAA’s safety team, citing a consistent decline in staffing-related incidents and positive safety reviews. Duffy thanked the FAA’s “dedicated safety team” for keeping skies secure, noting that with controllers back at their posts, “normal operations can resume.” He added that the focus will now shift to boosting controller hiring and building a “state-of-the-art air traffic control system.”

Bedford said the decision reflects a “steady decline in staffing concerns” and praised FAA teams for their dedication to public safety.

The FAA first imposed the flight-reduction order on Nov. 7 amid growing safety concerns as controller shortages worsened during the shutdown, affecting thousands of flights at major hubs including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

Flight cancellations peaked Nov. 9, when more than 2,900 flights were grounded due to the order, staffing shortages, and severe weather. Conditions improved last week as more controllers returned and Congress neared a shutdown deal, prompting the FAA to halt plans for further reductions.

Controller staffing has steadily recovered since the shutdown ended Wednesday, dropping from a peak of 81 staffing-trigger events on Nov. 8 to just one on Nov. 16, returning to pre-shutdown levels.

With the order lifted, limits on certain general aviation flights, visual flight rule approaches, commercial space operations, and parachute or photo missions will also end.

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