美国联邦航空管理局冻结了原定于周四增加的航班减少，因为美国取消的航班数量本周稳步下降。
美国联邦航空局周三晚上发布了一项紧急命令，将航班减少量冻结在目前6%的水平。
根据之前的命令，航空公司被要求在周四之前将40个“高影响机场”的运营量减少8%，周五之前减少10%。新的命令意味着这些削减将不再增加。
交通部表示，这一决定是在看到“控制器呼叫迅速减少”后做出的
交通部在一份新闻稿中说:“如此强大的人员配备水平表明，为了确保旅行公众的安全，没有必要进一步增加飞行中的裁员。”“随着联邦政府重新开放，管制员收到他们的回报，联邦航空局将继续监控人员配备水平，并审查关键趋势线。”
DOT表示，“随着FAA继续评估形势，并确定航空公司和系统何时能够安全地逐步恢复正常运营”，6%的航班减少将保持不变。
据报道，截至美国东部时间晚上8点左右，美国周三有900多架航班被取消，从繁忙的芝加哥、丹佛和亚特兰大出发的航班被取消最多FlightAware.
截至美国东部时间晚上8点左右，超过2200架航班被延误。
周三的航班取消似乎将继续美国机场一整天的头痛，这些机场在联邦政府关闭的情况下被迫运营。
然而，随着国会似乎准备结束关闭，取消和延迟在一周内慢慢下降。
周二，美国有1200多架航班被取消，而周一有2400多架航班被取消。导致头痛的冬季天气在中西部和东部，周一和周二也不再是周三机场的一个因素。
许多联邦雇员，包括运输安全管理局的工作人员无偿工作随着华盛顿党派僵局的持续。
尽管情况有所改善，交通部长肖恩·达菲警告取消如果关闭没有结束，可能会在本周末造成重大问题。
达菲在周二的新闻发布会上说:“如果政府不开放，它将大幅放缓。”“如果不开放，可能会有航空公司说，‘我们要停飞我们的飞机。’事情就是这么严重。"
众议院将对该法案进行投票表决周三晚上。如果通过，它将被送到唐纳德·特朗普总统的办公桌上签署。
代表美国航空公司的贸易协会美国航空公司(Airlines for America)总裁兼首席执行官克里斯·苏努努(Chris Sununu)表示，航空公司尚未收到任何关于关闭结束后是否会调整航班减少的指导。
苏努努说，一旦政府关闭结束，大约需要一周时间航空旅行业务才能恢复正常。他说，如果关闭在本周结束，预计感恩节假期期间旅行将会顺利。
苏努努在周三的新闻发布会上说:“仍然有足够的时间来确保感恩节周的一切按原计划进行。”
Flight reductions to hold at 6% amid 'rapid decline in controller callouts': DOT
The Federal Aviation Administration froze flight reductions that were initially set to increase on Thursday, as the number of canceled flights in the United States has steadily decreased this week.
The FAA issued an emergency order on Wednesday evening freezing the flight reductions at its current level of 6%.
Under a prior order, airlines had been required to reduce operations at 40 "high-impact airports" by 8% by Thursday and by 10% by Friday. The new order means those reductions will no longer increase.
The Department of Transportation said the decision was taken after seeing a "rapid decline in controller callouts."
"Such strong staffing levels suggest a further ramp up in-flight reductions are not necessary to keep the traveling public safe," the DOT said in a press release. "As the federal government reopens and controllers receive their backpay, the FAA will continue to monitor staffing levels and review key trend lines."
The 6% flight reductions will remain in place "as the FAA continues to assess the situation and determines when airlines and systems can safely and gradually return to normal operations," the DOT said.
The order comes after more than 900 flights were canceled Wednesday in the U.S. as of approximately 8 p.m. ET, with departures from the busy hubs of Chicago, Denver and Atlanta leading the list of the most cancellations, according toFlightAware.
More than 2,200 flights had been delayed as of about 8 p.m. ET.
Wednesday’s flight cancellations appeared set to continue a dayslong streak of headaches at American airports, which were operating under duress amid a federal government shutdown.
The cancellations and delays have slowly crept down throughout the week, however, as Congress appeared ready to end the shutdown.
More than 1,200 flights in the U.S. were canceled on Tuesday, while Monday saw more than 2,400 canceled.Winter weather that caused headachesin the Midwest and East on Monday and Tuesday was also no longer a factor for airports on Wednesday.
Many federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration staffers, wereworking without payas the partisan impasse dragged on in Washington.
And while things have improved, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffywarned the cancellationscould cause major issues this weekend if the shutdown does not come to an end.
"If the government doesn't open, it's going to radically slow down," Duffy said during a press conference on Tuesday. "If this doesn't open, you might have airlines that say, 'We're going to ground our planes.' That's how serious this is."
The House of Representativeswas set to vote on the billWednesday night. If it passes, it will head to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed.
Airlines have not received any guidance on whether flight reductions will be adjusted once the shutdown ends, according to Chris Sununu, the president and CEO of Airlines for America, a trade association representing U.S. carriers.
Once the government shutdown ends, it will take about a week before air travel operations return to normal, Sununu said. If the shutdown ends this week, smooth travel is expected over the Thanksgiving holiday, he said.
"There's still plenty of time to make sure that everything over the Thanksgiving week goes off as originally planned," Sununu said during a press conference on Wednesday.
