WASHINGTON — The Trump Administration said airlines were free to resume full schedules as of 6 a.m. This ended a 10-day order to cancel 40% of flights nationally. American Airlines’ three LaCrosse-Chicago flights a day can be expected to begin filling up. So too Delta’s three Rochester-Minneapolis flights. Why did Trump ground so many flights? Experts have theories. Some accept the explanation of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the loss of many air controllers during the 43-day federal government shutdown had exasperated safety risks. As a Trump loyalist, however, Duffy sidestepped blaming Trump for cutting off controller salaries and thus creating safety questions. An uncharitable assessment is that Trump found it convenient to inflict pain on air travelers to pressure Congress to accept his major shift in budget priorities. Duffy claimed there had been incidents of planes getting too close in the air, of runway incursions and of pilot concerns, but he offered no supporting data or whether the frequency exceeded typical levels.
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