Duffy Averts Nationwide Airport Crisis As “Normal Flight Operations Resume” 

The 43-day federal government shutdown that plunged major US airports into chaos is finally easing, with operations normalizing just in time for the year’s busiest holiday travel period.

“The FAA has determined that normal flight operations can resume after multiple days of positive staffing with air traffic controllers in our towers,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed on X late Sunday night. 

Duffy said, “Now we can refocus our efforts on hiring and building the state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve.” 

🚨The @FAANews has determined that normal flight operations can resume after multiple days of positive staffing with air traffic controllers in our towers.

Now we can refocus our efforts on hiring and building the state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people… https://t.co/28wQpOfKHD

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 17, 2025

What this means for travelers is that the Transportation Department and the FAA will lift capacity reductions at 40 major airports starting this morning. Good news materialized on Friday when flight cancellations were dialed back to 3% from 6%. 

Last Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed legislation to end the longest federal closure in US history. This averted 20% of flight cancellations ahead of the Thanksgiving travel period, which could’ve paralyzed the nation’s top 40 airports. 

Separate, but still necessary to understand across the travel space, is a report from Deutsche Bank Research showing that inbound travel to the U.S. has been soft this year.

Here’s more from DB:

Back in April, we took a closer look at reports claiming that visitor numbers to the U.S. had fallen sharply in March — supposedly reflecting a backlash against the current administration’s policies on immigration, trade, and other fronts. At the time

Visitor numbers did rebound afterward, but since then a clear and consistent year-on-year decline has emerged. Due to the government shutdown, we only have data through the end of August, yet in the Trump 2.025 world, arrivals now appear to be settling roughly 3% below last year’s levels. Of course, these are official entries; if illegal crossings were included, total arrivals would likely be lower still. The official decline appears to reflect both stricter enforcement at entry points and behavioral responses to the administration’s policies.

Chart of the day:

Back to Duffy’s announcement … great news for travelers.