FAA limits most private jets at major airports
A Gulfstream G-IV private jet flies through clouds at sunset as it approaches Washington’s Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on June 12, 2024.
J. David Ake | Getty Images
The Federal Aviation Administration will “effectively ban commercial aviation” at a dozen major U.S. airports on Monday and increase flight restrictions on commercial airlines as a shortage of air traffic controllers disrupts travel due to the government shutdown, a trade group said.
Last week, the Trump administration ordered U.S. commercial airlines to reduce their schedules to ease the pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without regular salaries during the shutdown. Although air traffic shortages have slowed travel overall, private flights did not have to be cut.
The first commercial airline flight cuts of 4% went into effect Friday, and flights are scheduled to increase to 10% by Friday.
More than 4,500 commercial flights were canceled and more than 17,000 delayed over the weekend as staffing shortages worsened across the country, according to FlightAware. Members of the aviation industry applauded the Senate’s progress late Sunday toward ending the shutdown, but a solution to the longest impasse ever has yet to be finalized.
“Safety is the cornerstone of business aviation, and NBAA is fully committed to ensuring the safety of NAS,” National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen said in a statement late Sunday. “The ways we will do this include ensuring that commercial aviation operators have an understanding of these restrictions and their implications.
The FAA did not immediately comment.
According to NBAA, the airports included in the new restrictions are as follows:
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Denver International Airport (DEN)
- General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS)
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
