Congress Votes To End Controller Furloughs

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 07:41 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

U.S. air travel has returned to normal after Congress passed a measure ending air traffic controller furloughs.
The bipartisan agreement stops the closure of 149 contract control towers and allows the FAA to fully staff controller positions through September.
This resolution ends delays caused by furloughs, which had affected over 3,000 flights, by enabling the FAA to transfer up to $253 million from other programs.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Air travel in the United States was back to normal this week after Congress passed a measure on Friday giving the FAA new flexibility for dealing with forced spending cuts.

The agreement, reached just hours before legislators were to leave on a week-long break, ends controller furloughs that briefly caused delays at large commercial airports. It also allows the FAA to continue operations at 149 contract control towers that were due for closure on June 15.