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On Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned that once the government shutdown concludes, it may take “days, if not a week” for air travel to resume normal operations. Speaking on “America Reports,” Duffy highlighted the complexities involved in restoring full functionality to the nation’s air travel system.
“Even if the government were to reopen tomorrow — which currently seems unlikely — it would take several days to assess the return of air traffic controllers to their posts in towers and facilities,” Duffy explained. This assessment phase is a critical step before the industry can proceed with reestablishing typical operations.
He further elaborated that airlines face additional challenges in reactivating their flight schedules. “Once we start reducing the number of grounded flights from the required 10%, the airlines then have to reintegrate these planes back into their booking systems,” Duffy noted, emphasizing the complexity of the task at hand.
With the intricate processes involved, Duffy reiterated that it could take airlines several days, or even up to a week, to fully recover and return to their usual schedules once the government shutdown is lifted. This delay underscores the ripple effect the shutdown has on the aviation sector.
Duffy said there will be a lag of several days to a week before airlines and airports can return to normal operations.
“It’s going to take some time for the airlines to respond. So once we see more controllers in the towers, then the airlines have to respond to that,” Duffy said. “It can be days, if not a week, before we get back to full-force flights when the shutdown ends.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.