In a move that will ease looming holiday travel pressures , the Federal Aviation Administration announced Sunday that it is lifting its emergency order reducing flights at 40 major US airports, paving the way for a return to normal operations beginning Monday.

The restrictions had mandated a reduction of up to 6% in flight volume at those airports. The reduction was set to increase up to 10%. The restrictions were first imposed on Nov. 7 in response to a staffing shortage among air traffic controllers during the record-breaking 43-day federal government shutdown , which ended on Nov. 12.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the order was rescinded after a safety review team found a "steady decline of staffing-trigger events" across

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