The Federal Aviation Administration can require commercial airlines at designated U.S. airports to implement percentage-based flight reductions as an operational tool to manage safety risks and air traffic controller staffing shortages.
November 13, 2025
high
operational
Regulatory/operational authority used to reduce traffic volumes when controller staffing or safety conditions warrant.
Staffing shortages in air traffic control can produce isolated flight delays at airports, while aggregate national delay levels can nevertheless remain within the range of normal variation.
October 29, 2025
medium
temporal
General relationship between air-traffic staffing levels and flight delay patterns.