FAA Investigates Airlines for Failing to Cut Flights After Shutdown

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has announced that the agency will open investigations into airlines suspected of failing to comply with a federal mandate to reduce flights during the final days of the US government shutdown in early November 2025.

The mandate required airlines to scale back operations by up to 6 percent at 39 major airports. The cuts were ordered due to severe staffing shortages and fatigue among air traffic controllers, many of whom were working unpaid or under furlough conditions.

Airlines that exceeded the allowed number of flights could face penalties of up to $75,000 per violation.

"We will be sending out letters of investigation to any of the airlines who we don't feel lived up to the requirement to reduce capacity," Bedford said at a conference at Newark airport. "That's going to be an ongoing investigation."

Although the FAA initially targeted a 10 percent reduction to stabilize the system, the final cap was set at 6 percent once the shutdown ended.

However, data from Cirium, an aviation analytics provider, indicated that airlines canceled only 0.25 percent of scheduled flights, which is far below the minimum cut of 3 percent required. This has raised questions about whether major carriers such as United, Delta, and Southwest followed the rules at all.

The FAA is now preparing formal letters of investigation, though no timeline for the process has been shared.

Photo by Preston A Larimer on Unsplash