FAA to end flight-cutting emergency order

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would end an emergency order mandating cuts in domestic flights at 40 major U.S. airports, effective at 06:00 local time on Monday, the administration announced on Sunday.

The termination of the order will allow the U.S. National Airspace System to return to full, normal operations, according to a joint statement by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA head Bryan Bedford.

Staffing levels have continued to recover since the end of the government shutdown last Wednesday, according to the FAA.

Duffy said the focus will then shift to accelerating controller hiring and building a new air traffic control system.

The statement also announced that restrictions on some general aviation operations, commercial space launches, parachute operations, photo missions and other activities are due to expire.

The FAA said it is reviewing instances of airline non-compliance under the emergency order to assess possible enforcement measures.

The cuts, which started with a 4 percent reduction on Nov. 7 in flights at 40 major U.S. airports and expanded to 10 percent on Nov 14, were designed to address staffing shortages and reduce safety risks amid the record-long government shutdown. The move led to widespread cancellations and delays, causing significant disruptions at airports across the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a spending package passed by both chambers of the U.S. Congress on Nov 12, formally ending the record 43-day shutdown.

Analysts believe that while staffing levels are expected to gradually recover, flight delays and cancellations are likely to persist for some time.

FAA to end flight-cutting emergency order

The number of overseas tourists claiming China's departure tax refund surged 285 percent year on year in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data released by the State Taxation Administration on Monday.

In the same period, the sales volume of goods eligible for departure tax refunds and the amount of tax refunds both increased 98.8 percent, according to the data. By the end of November, the number of tax refund stores catering to international visitors in the country had reached 12,252, including over 7,000 "instant refund" stores.

The departure tax refund measures, which enable overseas tourists to claim back value-added tax on eligible purchases made at designated tax refund stores before leaving China, are translating growing inbound travel flows into consumption momentum and emerging as a fresh driver for inbound tourism spending, the administration said.

China has introduced a series of measures since April to optimize its tax refund system for overseas visitors. Tax authorities nationwide have improved processing efficiency and enabled cross-region refund services, making the procedure more convenient and thus boosting tourists' spending.

The country first implemented the departure tax refund policy for overseas travelers in 2015. Since then, the scale of departure tax refunds has continued to grow year by year, benefiting an increasing number of international travelers.

Departure tax refund applications in China surge 285 pct in Jan-Nov