Regulatory Alert: FAA to Terminate Order Restricting Air Carrier Operations at 40 Airports

November 16, 2025

This evening, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the agency will terminate its emergency order—which has required air carriers to reduce operations at 40 different “high impact airports”—effective tomorrow, November 17, at 6 a.m. In a press release, FAA stated that the decision to terminate the order was based on a recommendation from an internal safety team following “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.” According to FAA, air traffic controller staffing levels have returned to normal levels seen prior to the government shutdown, allowing the agency to terminate the order and carrier operations to resume as normal.

You can read FAA’s press release here.

Background. On November 6, FAA issued an emergency order requiring air carriers to reduce their total daily scheduled domestic operations at 40 airports, starting at 4 percent and then increasing to 10 percent by November 14. In justifying the order, FAA explained that with “continued delays and unpredictable staffing shortages, which are driving fatigue, risk is further increasing, and the FAA is concerned with the system’s ability to maintain the current volume of operations.” The order directed carriers to reduce operations by 4 percent on November 7, and it increased to 6 percent on November 11.

On November 12, President Trump signed into law a continuing resolution to reopen the government. Shortly after the House of Representatives passed the bill that same day, FAA revised its emergency order and kept the level of reductions at 6 percent because of improving controller staffing levels. On November 14, FAA again revised its order and lowered the amount of reductions to 3 percent. In doing so, FAA noted that there had been a rapid decline in controller staffing triggers since November 8 when there was a record high. FAA indicated this evening that staffing conditions are back to normal levels, allowing the agency to terminate the emergency order.

List of 40 Affected Airports. FAA has not adjusted the list of 40 “high impact” airports that have been directly affected by the emergency order and operational restrictions. These airports include:

Anchorage International (ANC)
Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
Boston Logan International (BOS)
Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Chicago O`Hare International (ORD)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
Dallas Love Field (DAL)
Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
Denver International (DEN)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
Harry Reid International (LAS)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
Honolulu International (HNL)
Indianapolis International (IND)
Los Angeles International (LAX)
Memphis International (MEM)
Philadelphia International (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
Portland International (PDX)
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
Salt Lake City International (SLC)
San Diego International (SAN)
San Francisco International (SFO)
Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
Tampa International (TPA)
Teterboro (TEB)
Washington Dulles International (IAD)
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)Miami International (MIA)
Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
New York LaGuardia (LGA)
Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Oakland International (OAK)
Ontario International (ONT)
Orlando International (MCO)
Philadelphia International (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
Portland International (PDX)
Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
Salt Lake City International (SLC)
San Diego International (SAN)
San Francisco International (SFO)
Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
Tampa International (TPA)
Teterboro (TEB)
Washington Dulles International (IAD)
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)