Flight cancellations ease as government shutdown ends

The Department of Transportation late Wednesday froze flight cuts it imposed less than a week ago, as air travel disruptions eased across the United States hours before the longest government shutdown ended.

The department implemented the freeze before the House approved a funding bill that would keep the government operating through January. President Donald Trump signed the bill on Wednesday, according to the White House.

According to aviation data firm Cirium, 816 flights departing from the United States were canceled on Wednesday, accounting for 3.5% of airline schedules and the lowest cancellation rate and number of cancellations since last Thursday.

The shutdown put air travel back in the spotlight and increased the burden on air traffic controllers, who must work without receiving a regular paycheck. The DOT said in a statement Wednesday night that there has been a “rapid decline” in calls from air traffic controllers over the past two days.

Trump administration officials on Friday began requiring airlines to reduce their flight schedules, citing safety risks and additional strain on air traffic controllers. Necessary cancellations at U.S. airports rose from 4% to 6% of domestic flights on Tuesday due to increased workloads on air traffic controllers. It was supposed to rise to 10% by Friday, but the Department of Transport froze the increase on Wednesday night.

But the layoffs were not enough to avoid further disruption, compounded by widespread staffing shortages and bad weather, which led to a flurry of cancellations and delays last weekend.

delta airlines Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that the closure will affect the airline’s finances, but won’t wipe out the airline’s profits. He warned that he believed there would be another grounding at some point, and said air traffic controllers should be paid if that happened.

U.S. airline stocks rose broadly on Wednesday ahead of the House vote.

Air traffic controller shortages have increased during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, resulting in thousands of flights being delayed or canceled altogether and disrupting the travel plans of 5 million passengers, according to Airlines for America, a trade group representing the nation’s largest airlines. Some air traffic controllers have been forced to take second jobs to make ends meet, according to controller unions and government officials.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy and major airlines warned this week that air travel would not immediately return to normal after the shutdown.

“We’re going to wait to see the data before lifting any travel restrictions, but that depends on air traffic controllers returning to work,” Duffy said Tuesday at a news conference at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.