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Rep. Rick Larsen, Democrat of Washington and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The Air Current Wednesday that after being briefed on the underlying Federal Aviation Administration safety data he largely agreed with the reasoning for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s scheduled flight capacity reduction. Larsen was one of the first lawmakers to call for greater transparency after the decision was announced last week.
Related: With little recourse, U.S. airline leaders skeptical of DOT flight cut justification
On Nov. 5, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the DOT would move to reduce scheduled flights beginning at 4% on Nov. 7 and scaling one percentage point per day until Nov. 14. The move was made in response to stress on the air traffic control system from existing ATC staffing shortages, compounded by a 43-day government shutdown which forced key safety personnel to work without pay.
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