Southwest Airlines passengers made their final boarding-time scrambles for seats on Monday as the carrier prepared to end the open-seating system that distinguished it from other airlines for more than a half‑century.

Starting Tuesday, customers on Southwest flights will have assigned seats and the option of paying more to get their preferred seat closer to the front of a plane or seats with extra legroom. The airline began selling tickets shaped by the new policy in July.

Here’s what travelers can expect as Southwest does away with another of its signature features and becomes more like other airlines:

Goodbye, A/B/C groups

Under the open-seat system, Southwest customers could check in starting exactly 24 hours before departure to secure places in boarding lines at departure gates.

Early check-ins were placed in the coveted “A” boarding group, essentially guaranteeing they would find an open window or aisle seat. Others landed in “B” or “C,” the likelihood of only middle seats being available rising the longer they waited to check in.

The Dallas-based airline’s unusual seating process began as a way to get passengers on planes quickly and thereby reduce the time that aircraft and crews spent on the ground not making money. It helped Southwest operate more efficiently and to squeeze a few more flights into the daily schedule; the system also was a key reason Southwest remained profitable every year until the coronavirus pandemic.

The open-seating arrangement became less democratic over time, however, as Southwest also had starting allowing passengers to pay extra for spots near the front of the line.

Hello, assigned seating

An eight‑group boarding structure is replacing the find-your-own-seat scrum. Instead of numbered metal columns at departure gates, passengers will file through two alternating lanes once it’s time for their group to board.

The airline said its gate areas will be converted in phases starting Monday night, a process that could take about two months to complete. Columns that remain standing past Tuesday will have their numbers removed or covered in the meantime.

Southwest is selling tickets at fares with different seating choices, including standard seats assigned at check‑in or paid preferred and extra‑legroom seats selected at booking. For certain flights, passengers also will have the option of paying for priority boarding beginning 24 hours before departure.

How it will work

Newly designed boarding passes will show seat assignments and boarding groups, according to Southwest. A reservation made for nine or fewer people, including families, will assign those passengers to the same boarding group.

Southwest says the boarding groups are based on seat location, fare class, loyalty tier status and the airline’s credit card rewards benefits. Passengers who purchase seats with extra legroom will be placed in groups 1-2. Customers with premium fares and the airline’s “most loyal travelers” will also have access to preferential seats and earlier boarding, the carrier said, while those with basic fares will likely be placed in groups 6-8.

Other changes

With the switch to assigned seating also comes a revision of the airline’s policy for customers who need extra room. Under the new rule — also effective Tuesday — travelers who do not fit within a single seat’s armrests will be required to purchase an additional seat in advance.

That represents a change from the airline’s previous policy that allowed passengers the choice to purchase a fully refundable extra seat before arriving at the airport, or request a free one at the gate. Under the updated policy, refunds are still possible but no longer guaranteed and depend on seat availability and fare class.

In May 2025, Southwest also ended its decades‑old “bags fly free” policy, replacing it with baggage fees for most travelers.

The changes mark one of the biggest transformations in the airline’s history, as it alters its longstanding customer perks to bring it more in line with the practices of other larger U.S. carriers.

Why all the change?

The shift comes amid pressure from investors to increase profitability.

“We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect,” Southwest CEO Robert Jordan said last year.

When the Texas-based airline first announced plans in 2024 to switch to assigned seating, it said studies on seating options showed that customer preferences had changed over the years, with the vast majority of travelers saying they now want to know where they are sitting before they get to the airport.

Jordan said at the time that open seating was the top reason surveyed travelers cited for choosing another airline over Southwest.

Unfold the carbon-fiber composite wings from the body, tilt them horizontally, rip the 100-horsepower Rotax engine and you’re good to go.

Except that there are few bodies of water where a seaplane pilot can land or take off legally in Colorado, said Jeremy Rogers, a Niwot resident who started piloting his 2023 Icon A5 last year.

“Colorado is the adventure capital of the United States,” said Rogers, a sports chiropractor who has kayaked, adventure-run and flown glider planes for years. “It’s a shame that seaplane pilots can’t have the same access to waterways that other states provide.”

According to the Seaplane Pilots Association, Colorado ranks at the bottom in the nation — or close to it — for seaplane access. Colorado Parks and Wildlife tightly maintains a 42-year ban on seaplane operations on the 3,200 lakes and reservoirs the agency oversees across the state.

“It’s among the worst,” Steven McCaughey, the executive director of the advocacy group, said of Colorado. “It’s the state we’ve spent the most energy trying to open up.”

Chris Arend, a spokesman for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said both his agency and CPW remain concerned about “safety and capacity conflicts between seaplanes and other recreational uses, resource limitations and the potential spread of aquatic nuisance species.”

Those waterborne nuisances, such as zebra and quagga mussels, have been occasionally found in Colorado lakes and reservoirs in the last few years, including in stretches of the Colorado River earlier this year.

Mussels cause a host of issues, including clogging reservoir dams, outlet structures and distribution systems. They can also infest boats, damage engines and disrupt the natural food web. State wildlife officials have been trying to stem their spread, including with programs requiring prelaunch boat inspections at lakes.

But that hasn’t dissuaded Ray Hawkins, an Aurora retiree who earned his pilot’s license in 1970, from pushing for more seaplane access in Colorado.

Hawkins, who serves as executive director of the Colorado Seaplane Initiative, has managed to work out arrangements to use Lake Meredith Reservoir near Ordway and Kenney Reservoir near Rangely for seaplane landings and takeoffs. Neither body of water is under CPW jurisdiction, but they are far from the Front Range, Hawkins said.

That has the 73-year-old former computer specialist gunning for a potential bill that might ease restrictions on the aircraft during the next legislative session, which begins on Jan. 14. It would be his fourth attempt, after three unsuccessful legislative tries in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

For Hawkins, it’s a matter of basic fairness.

“If you allow power boats, then you cannot arbitrarily ban seaplanes,” he argued. “A seaplane is no different than a power boat — it just gets into the water in a slightly different manner.”

‘It’s a fairness issue’

Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s predecessor agencies, the Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks, said no to any aircraft landings or takeoffs from its lakes and reservoirs, including by “airplanes, helicopters, gliders, hot air balloons, hang gliders, parachutes, parasails, kite boards, kite tubes, zip lines and other similar devices or equipment.”

The year was 1983 — and the agency hasn’t backed off its position since. It reaffirmed its opposition in 2024, with the CPW commission denying a change to the rule.

“The intent of the 1983 regulation was to ensure public safety by designating recreational uses that were compatible with the needs of park users and the surrounding neighbors and communities,” Arend said.

According to CPW spokesman Travis Duncan, “there is no way to inspect a seaplane for aquatic nuisance species before it lands on a state water body.”

“In addition to the increased risk from (invasive species), aerial work often impacts and can cause increased risk for other recreational activities,” he said.

But McCaughey says the seaplane community is willing to go above and beyond to satisfy the state’s concerns. If they’re flying from another body of water, pilots can land at a nearby airport, transport their plane by trailer to the lake and decontaminate in the same way boat owners do.

“We will meet or exceed the required inspection that the boating community goes through,” he said.

In terms of safety, McCaughey said seaplanes are involved in far fewer accidents than boats. According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, there were 406 seaplane accidents in the United States from 2008 to 2022. Only 77 of them were fatal. By contrast, in just 2023 alone, the U.S. Coast Guard reported nearly 4,000 accidents involving boats, resulting in 564 fatalities.

McCaughey also points out that retrofitted seaplanes can be tapped for critical work, like scooping water at lakes and reservoirs to help in fighting fires.

Colorado wildlife officials, he feels, have been clinging to ossified policies in need of a fresh look.

” ‘We don’t have seaplanes, we’ve never had seaplanes’ — we have to get past that,” McCaughey said, characterizing what he sees as the prevailing view. “We want some sense of reasonable access.”

Rogers, the adventure athlete, said he’d confronted similar resistance from water districts that manage many other bodies of water in Colorado. They often follow state restrictions as a matter of course, he said.

“The water districts don’t want to have to manage another user class — that’s the fundamental issue,” he said.

Rogers, 51, often flies just over the state line into Nebraska to land on and take off from Lake McConaughy, where access is unimpeded.

Or he goes even farther out of state. On a recent afternoon, Rogers was loading his Icon A5 into a trailer at his hangar at Vance Brand Airport in Longmont for a long road trip to Texas, where the flying machine was due for a tune-up.

“In Texas, you can land on anything,” he said.

Colorado’s restrictive seaplane environment could prompt another attempt to ease up the rules at the statehouse — in what would be the fourth attempt in a decade. Kelly Sloan, who has frequently lobbied on behalf of the aviation industry at the Colorado Capitol, said he is piecing together a strategy for running a bill in the next session.

“It’s a fairness issue,” he said.

8,000 seaplane pilots in Colorado

The seaplane industry, Sloan said, is not a big constituency and likely won’t figure high on any lawmaker’s list of priorities. But the Seaplane Pilots Association said Colorado has 8,000 certified seaplane pilots, ranking ninth among U.S. states.

The economic potential from those numbers is already baked in, Sloan said, as long the regulatory environment in Colorado eases somewhat.

“I think there is some tourism business that is actually being lost without that access” to water, he said.

The issue has gotten the attention of state Rep. Naquetta Ricks. Hawkins, the seaplane promoter, is Ricks’ constituent and has asked her for help under the Gold Dome.

The lawmaker says it’s possible she’ll run a bill in the 2026 session.

“I would really like to see that everyone enjoys the resources we have,” Ricks said. “Other states have figured it out — what is our plan?”

While some states see heavy seaplane use — think Alaska and Florida — the aircraft haven’t been without user conflict. Several years ago, a controversy exploded on Seattle’s Lake Union over how much berth seaplanes should get while using the lake.

But Hawkins said seaplane pilots are sensitive to their impacts and aren’t asking for access to high-use recreational facilities in Colorado. Perhaps just a couple of bodies of water closer to Denver, he said.

“Give us something,” Hawkins said.

Carl Mattson, a certified seaplane pilot for nearly half a century, said he used his 1974 LA-4-200 Buccaneer seaplane to woo his second wife. He flew her to Lake McConaughy and splashed down for lunch. They are still married 15 years later.

He has owned two seaplanes — a 1982 Cessna 206 amphibious aircraft alongside the Buccaneer — but because of Colorado’s restrictions on their use, he has sold both. It wasn’t worth trying to keep his pilot’s license current with so few places to legally practice landings and takeoffs in the state, Mattson said.

He sees a glimmer of hope with the Dec. 1 appointment of Major General Laura Clellan as the acting director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, in the wake of the previous director stepping down after less than three years.

“A new set of eyes — hopefully someone who is more receptive takes over,” Mattson said. “Give us a chance. Let us show you that we can do this.”

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A Federal Aviation Administration ground delay on flights to DIA was in effect as of 2 p.m. Departures to DIA were delayed by an average of two hours, FAA officials said in an alert.

FAA officials on Friday morning ordered a ground stop on flights departing for DIA, which was lifted before noon.

Airlines at DIA reported 1,039 delayed flights and 42 canceled flights as of 2 p.m., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

Southwest Airlines reported 402 delays, followed by United with 294, and SkyWest with 187.

The National Weather Service has issued high wind and red flag fire alerts, and forecasters have warned wind gusts west of metro Denver could reach speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

This is a developing story.

The company’s president, James G. Dempsey, was named as interim CEO as the board seeks a new leader, according to an announcement made after the close of stock trading on Monday. Biffle will stay on as an adviser through the end of the year.

“Jimmy has been an invaluable member of Frontier’s senior leadership team for more than 10 years and has played an instrumental role in the company’s evolution and growth during that time,” said Board Chairman Bill Franke. “We believe Jimmy is uniquely qualified to guide our airline into the future.”

Biffle joined the Denver-based airline in July 2014 as president, leaving behind a job as the chief marketing officer at Spirit Airlines, a leading ultra-low-cost carrier at the time. He was promoted to CEO in March 2016.

Frontier’s owners at the time, Indigo Partners, gave Biffle the task of converting Frontier into an ultra-low-cost carrier. And Biffle added his own colorful flair to the task.

The airline attracted customers with low fares, and then tried to convince them to pay extra for bundles that included additional services. Biffle beefed up the company’s loyalty program. He significantly expanded the airline’s route network, focusing on underserved secondary markets as well as a handful of international destinations. Earlier this month, Frontier Airlines announced it was adding 23 new routes, with fares starting at $39 each way.

He placed one of the country’s largest orders ever for the Airbus A320neo, ordering 134 jets in a bid to significantly improve the fuel efficiency of Frontier’s fleet, something the airline heavily marketed.

Biffle navigated the turbulence of the pandemic, but Frontier struggled to maintain consistent profits in the years that followed, despite innovations like the GoWild! Pass, which Frontier rolled out in 2023 as a way to put bodies into surplus seats for customers willing to pay a flat membership fee and book last-minute.

“The Board of Directors is deeply appreciative of Barry’s leadership and dedicated service to Frontier over the past 11 years. We thank him for his many contributions during his tenure,” Franke said.

No reason was provided for Biffle’s departure, but the company’s stock performance provides some clues. Since it went public again in April 2021 at $19 a share, Frontier Group’s share price has fallen 70%. And shares, which closed at $5.76 on Monday, are down nearly 19% this year.

The company’s operating margins, after swinging positive last year, moved into the red again this year. After generating a net income of $31 million last year, Frontier lost $190 million in the first nine months of the year.

Dempsey came to Frontier Group from Ryanair Holdings PLC, an Irish ultra-low-cost carrier known for its strict financial discipline. His background in finance and accounting contrasts with Biffle’s expertise in marketing and growth focus, which makes it likely that some belt-tightening is in store next year.

As for timing, year-end is a popular time for corporate boards to part ways with their CEOs. Through October, there have been 1,760 CEO departures, according to the placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Biffle now joins that list.

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The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued new guidance telling airlines they do not have to cover passenger expenses, such as meals or hotel stays, when flight cancellations or long delays are caused by aircraft recalls.

The guidance, released on Wednesday, comes after widespread disruptions last month amid the busy Thanksgiving travel period in the U.S. stemming from inspections and software updates that carriers had to perform immediately for safety reasons on a widely used Airbus commercial aircraft. About 6,000 planes were impacted.

Airlines worldwide scrambled to fix a computer code issue that may have contributed to a sudden drop in altitude on a JetBlue plane in October, which injured at least 15 people. Airbus said an examination of the JetBlue ordeal found a software glitch that could have affected flight-control systems on its A320 family of aircraft, the primary competitor to Boeing’s 737 planes.

In the U.S., airlines must provide full refunds when they cancel a flight, regardless of the reason. But the Transportation Department does not require them to cover lodging or meals for stranded passengers — even when a disruption is the airline’s fault.

Instead, airlines voluntarily offer varying levels of compensation for disruptions caused by something considered within their control, such as crew scheduling issues or mechanical problems, and the department says carriers must adhere to their commitments.

Ten U.S. airlines, for example, offer meal vouchers when a passenger is left waiting three or more hours for a new flight after a “controllable” cancellation or a delay. They include legacy carriers Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, as well as low-cost carriers like Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines. All but one of them — Frontier Airlines — promise to cover lodging for passengers if they cause an overnight cancellation or delay.

The new DOT guidance clarifies that disruptions caused by aircraft recalls are not categorized as “within an airline’s control,” meaning those voluntary customer service commitments do not apply, although carriers can still offer them if they choose to do so.

The department said the guidance will remain in place while it continues rule-making on how flight disruptions should be categorized.

In September, the Trump administration scrapped a Biden-era proposal to make it mandatory instead of voluntary to provide compensation to passengers for major disruptions caused by an airline, which would have brought U.S. policy closer in line with European airline consumer protections.

The Transportation Department said at the time that the move was “consistent with Department and administration priorities.” President Donald Trump has sought to significantly roll back or modify federal regulations that his administration deems are wasteful or burdensome.

When he and his wife brought home their two Labradors, Maple and Willow, they pictured a life filled with shared travel and adventure. Yet every time they tried to fly with their dogs, they ran into confusing airline rules, safety concerns and restrictions that made the experience stressful.

“When you start researching, it’s really interesting because you have federal laws, you have state laws, you have different rules and regulations from each airline, and then you have different FAA regulations within all that. There’s no one cookie-cutter way to figure out how to fly with your dog,” Miller said.

“There was no option really for us, except for driving. So, the ‘aha’ moment for me was, ‘there’s got to be a better way of doing this.’”

Pet air travel has grown significantly over the past decade, with an estimated 2 million domestic animals flying on commercial airlines in the United States each year.

The increasing demand for pet-friendly travel has led to expanded accommodations at Denver International Airport and inspired the launch of dedicated pet travel services like Bark Air, K9 Jets and now Miller’s company, RetrievAir, which celebrated its first flights in May.

Knowing that dogs share only about 12 years with their humans, Miller, a Minnesota resident, said he was determined to make every moment count.

He imagined a world where pets could travel as freely and comfortably as their owners, without being confined to cargo holds or cramped crates.

Alongside co-founder and veteran airline executive Mark Williams, this vision became the foundation for RetrievAir, a pet-first public charter airline dedicated entirely to in-cabin pet travel.

RetrievAir avoids large jets and the chaos of busy commercial terminals by partnering with charter operators like RVR Aviation.

Their 30-seat regional planes are arranged to provide a cabin where pets of all sizes, from tiny breeds to Great Danes, can travel alongside their owners.

With an average ticket price of $775 per seat, passengers and pets can enjoy in-flight perks such as complimentary snacks and restroom breaks every two hours.

“I think I have done those cross-country trips seven to eight times, and they get so expensive, they take so much time, and I’m worried about (my pet’s) limbs being sat in the back seat of my car for so long,” said RetrievAir’s Head of Customer Experience and Social Impact, Annelise Ingram, who has traveled to with her Saint Bernard mix, Professor, on trips to North Carolina and Texas.

“When I heard Benton was starting this company, I just thought, what a wonderful cause, and how much help and impact it could have for people like myself.”

RetrievAir serves cities including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale and even Denver, which operates out of the Centennial Airport, according to their website.

It plans to expand in 2026 to additional destinations, including Scottsdale, Ariz.; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; San Francisco; Atlanta and Tampa Bay.

However, Ingram said RetrievAir isn’t just about traveling. She said they recently launched a  program that offers discounted or sometimes free seats to rescue dogs traveling across state lines to reach their forever homes or shelters with better chances of adoption.

She said they work closely with a Los Angeles–based nonprofit dog rescue organization called Ace of Hearts, and that in July, they partnered with The Sato Project on a rescue flight, moving 37 dogs from Puerto Rico to the New York area.

“In total, I think we have helped about 65 dogs get transported so far,” Ingram said.

“We just aim to keep growing that, keep making connections within the animal welfare space and multiplying that impact, because the shelters are doing this really great work on their own already, and we want to be a tool and use our resources to help them do that.”

Miller, alongside co-founder Williams, also recently went on ABC’s Shark Tank. The duo secured a deal with American internet entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian, who invested $776,000 for a 15% equity stake in the company.

Furry friends take over the airport

Pets are not only transforming the way we travel by air, but they are also reshaping how airports operate.

DIA ranks among the world’s busiest airports, with more than 82.4 million passengers in 2024.

In 2023, DIA’s carriers served 77.8 million passengers, a 12.3% increase from the nearly 70 million served in 2022. DIA’s Volunteer Program Manager Karla Grahn said she has noticed a steady rise in travelers bringing pets through the airport each year.

Colorado ranks among the top states for devoted dog owners, with Virginia, Georgia, Alaska and Nevada close behind, according to research published by Forbes in January.

In 2024, 50% of Denverites said they own a dog in their household, 27% said they own a cat and 32% said they have a pet-free abode. DIA launched its Canine Airport Therapy Squad program in 2015.

“I think it was really the start of, ‘how do we make the airport inclusive for pets?’” Grahn said.

“Adding pet relief areas to the concourses wasn’t really a conversation until we really started adding volunteers.”

The DEN CATS program uses certified therapy animals to reduce passenger stress. It began with 28 animals and now has 136 volunteers across 67 breeds, including 30 mixed breeds. The program’s sole feline, Xeli, joined in 2017.

Over the years, approximately 400 animal-owner teams have volunteered their time, contributing more than 3,500 hours in 2025 alone and more than 24,000 hours since its inception. Five of the original members of the DEN CATS team remain active in the program today. In October, the airport celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the program. To mark the milestone and honor a decade of service to the countless passengers traveling through DIA, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston officially declared Oct. 29 as “DEN Canine Airport Therapy Squad Day” in the City and County of Denver.

“A lot of times, airports are so stressful, but adding an animal, a dog, just brings a different level of friendliness, reducing that stress,” Grahn said.

“It grew so quickly and was such a popular program that it was something that we could never say, ‘oh, we need to walk away from this, or it isn’t successful.’ It just continued to grow and be more and more successful.”

As a result, she said the program has gotten so popular that it has held the Guinness World Records title for ‘Largest Airport Therapy Animal Program’ for nearly four years.

All animals are registered with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs or Pet Partners and are trained, certified and insured, with the equivalent of one year’s experience in an approved therapy program prior to volunteering at DIA.

Grahn said the program highlights how pets are increasingly part of everyday life and emphasizes the growing trend of traveling with animal companions.

Over the years, the airport has expanded its pet-friendly amenities, including adding a total of 14 pet relief areas spread across multiple terminals.

The DIA started with just one in the main terminal when the Westin Hotel opened, gradually adding more in the concourse center core areas as demand grew. With the airport’s concourse expansions and the addition of outdoor patios, pet relief areas were also included in each sub-core and on every outdoor patio.

Indoor pet relief rooms feature artificial turf flooring with a drainage system and an artificial rock. The rooms also include waste bags, disposal containers, a wall-mounted sink with soap dispenser, an automatic hand dryer and a paper towel dispenser.

Grahn she hopes the program can continue to grow and eventually would like to add more volunteers and more cats to the program. She also said the airport has plans to add more pet relief areas as it expands in the future. The airport is also conveniently located near a Wag Hotels at 24735 E. 75th Ave., offering a variety of services, including hotel-style boarding, doggie daycare and grooming services.

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Denver International Airport will likely see more than 845,000 passengers at security checkpoints between Friday and Dec. 1, an almost 10% increase from 2024, airport officials said in a news release.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30, will likely be the single busiest day at the Denver airport, with more than 96,000 people expected to pass through security. Other busy days include Tuesday and Nov. 29, DIA officials said. Over all three days, the airport expects to screen more than 271,000 passengers.

Widespread concerns about flight delays and cancellations, amplified by government-ordered flight cuts during the federal shutdown, have officials with Amtrak and Greyhound expecting high ticket sales, the companies said this week.

Greyhound bookings are trending up this year, though passengers often don’t buy bus tickets until a few days before their trip, so exact numbers are still unknown, according to a statement from spokesperson Karina Frayter with Greyhound parent company Flix North America.

“With all the uncertainty surrounding air travel in recent weeks, we’re seeing more travelers turn to (an) intercity bus as a more reliable and less stressful choice,” Frayter said. “This is especially true for trips in the 200-400-mile range, where total travel time is comparable to — or even less than — flying.”

The most popular Greyhound bus routes in Colorado include round trips from Denver along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors to Fort Collins, Vail and Colorado Springs, as well as trips to big cities in nearby states like Salt Lake City and Omaha, Nebraska.

“We’ve been adding additional capacity on high-demand routes to ensure people have affordable and reliable options to get home for the holidays,” Frayter said.

A record-breaking number of travelers are expected to hit the rails for Thanksgiving travel, Amtrak officials said in a news release.

Rail officials are seeing an increase in early bookings compared to last year, when 1.2 million people traveled by train for the holiday.

But road trips remain the most popular way to travel for Thanksgiving, with at least 73 million people — or 90% of all Thanksgiving travelers — expected on roadways across the U.S. this year, according to AAA.

Colorado usually takes up a bigger chunk of national travel bookings compared to other states, with Coloradans more likely to travel overall compounding the state’s status as a popular winter destination, spokesperson Skyler McKinley said.

Despite lackluster snowfall so far this year, most people book trips to Colorado ski resorts far in advance, McKinley said.

Folks who wanted to avoid congested roads should start driving before 11 a.m. most days of the holiday week and after 8 p.m. on Dec. 1, according to AAA data.

Holiday traffic on the Front Range is expected to peak Tuesday night on northbound I-25 between Pueblo and Denver.

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Airlines are optimistic they can resume normal operations just a few days after the government lifts its order to cut some flights at 40 busy airports, but it’s not clear how soon that will happen even though the federal shutdown is over.

The Federal Aviation Administration did announce Wednesday night that airlines won’t have to cut more than 6% of flights at those airports because air traffic controller staffing has improved significantly in the last few days. Originally the order that took effect last Friday called for those flight cuts to increase to 8% Thursday and top out at 10% on Friday.

A number of air traffic controllers missed work while they were going without pay during the shutdown, and the spike in understaffing at airport towers and regional control centers prompted the flight cut order due to concerns about safety. The existing shortage of several thousand controllers is so bad that even a small number of absences in some locations caused problems.

Officials at FAA and the Transportation Department didn’t offer any updates Thursday morning about when they will decide to lift the order. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the decision will be based on the safety data that experts at the FAA are watching closely.

The airlines say they will be ready and expect that normal operations will resume within three or four days after the order is lifted. Some experts have suggested that problems might linger longer than that and could affect Thanksgiving travel, so it is difficult to predict whether the airlines will be able to recover from this as quickly as they do after a major snowstorm disrupts their operations and leaves planes and crews out of position.

Airlines focused cuts on smaller regional routes to minimize the impact on main hubs. By late Thursday afternoon, only a little over 1,000 flights had been cancelled across the country. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said nearly 95% of all flights nationwide Thursday were on time.

“We are eager to resume normal operations over the next few days once the FAA gives clearance. We look forward to welcoming 31 million passengers—a new record—to our flights during the upcoming Thanksgiving travel period, beginning next Friday,” the Airlines for America trade group said Thursday.

Duffy has said that controllers and other FAA employees should receive 70% of their back pay within 24-48 hours of the end of the shutdown with the rest to come over the next couple paychecks. The financial pressure on controllers drove some of them to seek out side jobs to help make ends meet and call out of work while they dealt with the stress.

Last Saturday, the staff shortages peaked when 81 different FAA facilities warned they were running low on workers, forcing the airlines to cut additional flights. On Thursday morning, the FAA didn’t list any staffing warnings at airports and other radar facilities across the country.

There was talk of offering both air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers $10,000 bonuses for working during the shutdown. Duffy has suggested the bonuses might go only to controllers who never missed a shift during the shutdown, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she planned to give the bonuses to any officers who went “above and beyond” while working without pay. She handed out a couple of dozen checks to officers at a news conference Thursday.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and Chief Operating Officer David Seymour told employees in a letter Thursday that they are already seeing improvements as controller staffing stabilized over the last day or so even though more flight cuts will be needed until FAA lifts the order. But travelers should already be seeing fewer delays and cancellations on the day of their flights.

The two executives said they believe American Airlines’ planning and efforts to minimize disruptions will help the carrier bounce back fast and “deliver a strong Thanksgiving operation,” noting that millions of travelers “deserve the certainty.”

Airlines have canceled more than 9,000 flights across the U.S. since the Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight cuts last week to ease demand on control towers, which are short-staffed during the federal government shutdown.

Although the government appears set to reopen in the coming days, airport disruptions, flight cancellations and economic losses won’t disappear right away.

Here’s how the air travel network is being impacted:

Flights remain disrupted as the shutdown nears an end

Another 1,200 domestic flights were canceled Tuesday as the FAA increased its target for cutting flights at the nation’s busiest airports to 6%, up from 4%. There were fewer cancellations than in recent days, which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed to more air traffic controllers returning to work after news of a shutdown agreement.

Cancellations and delays also piled up due to ripple effects from flight cuts and severe weather. FAA air traffic chief Frank McIntosh said the agency restricted large sections of airspace over the weekend “to slow the entire country down, which forced massive cancellations and delays.”

Flight cuts won’t end until the FAA sees safety improve

The FAA hasn’t said when it will roll back flight limits. Duffy reinforced Tuesday that the cuts will remain — even after the shutdown ends — until safety metrics improve and staffing levels stabilize at air traffic control facilities. The cuts are set to rise to 10% Friday.

Duffy has declined to share the specific safety data that prompted the flight cuts. But in a news conference at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, he cited reports of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.

Air traffic controller shortages won’t go away either

The nationwide shortage of controllers isn’t new, but the shutdown likely made it worse, with Duffy saying that 15-20 controllers are retiring every day and some younger controllers leaving the profession. And it doesn’t take many controller absences to create problems. During the shutdown, a number of controllers who weren’t being paid called off work as they dealt with increased stress and the need to take side jobs to cover their bills.

Airlines will need to readjust after the flight cuts are lifted

The flight restrictions upended airline operations in just a matter of days. Many planes were rerouted and aren’t where they’re supposed to be.

Former FAA official Mike McCormick expects operations to recover within days, similar to after a major snowstorm. Eric Chaffee, a Case Western Reserve professor who studies risk management, warned the disruptions could last weeks as airlines face “complex operational hurdles” and winter weather complicates recovery before Thanksgiving.

“It’s similar to if you start pulling threads out of a tapestry,” Chaffee said. “What you may find is that lots unravels in addition to what you are trying to remove.”

Holiday travel outlook darkens amid persistent disruptions

The pace of airline ticket sales for Thanksgiving travel has slowed as travelers reconsider flying. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said ticket sales during the busy late November season are still expected to be up over last year, but only slightly.

Major airports bear the brunt of flight cuts

Hub airports in Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and the New York area have seen the bulk of the cancellations. They’ve also been plagued by long delays caused by staffing shortages in regional air traffic control centers and towers. Smaller regional airlines like SkyWest and Republic have been hit hardest because they fly many of the regional routes being dropped by the major airlines.

Trump’s post demands controllers get back to work

The head of the air traffic controllers union said controllers were not staging an organized walkout and remain committed to their jobs. However President Donald Trump on Monday blasted those who’ve taken time off during the shutdown, posting on social media “get back to work, NOW!!!” He also called for docking their pay while giving $10,000 bonuses for those who stayed.

Airlines face mounting losses

Canceled flights and mounting delays are adding to big losses for the airlines. The lost revenue is likely to add up to “hundreds of millions of dollars a day,’’ said Greg Raiff, CEO of the Elevate Aviation Group. He expects the toll to show up when the airlines start issuing earnings warnings for the fourth quarter.

Millions of people were affected

An estimated 5.2 million passengers have been affected by staffing-related delays or cancellations since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, according to Airlines for America, an industry trade group.

Henry Evans, a University of Michigan student, expected to fly Delta to Detroit on Sunday after visiting family in New York.

But after repeated delays the flight was canceled, so Evans rented a car and drove nine hours through the night to make his Monday morning classes in Ann Arbor.

Two rental counters told him they were out of cars that night. “I got a sense that a lot of people were doing a similar thing to me,” he said.

Yamat reported from Las Vegas, Funk from Omaha, Nebraska, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writer Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed.

Air travelers should expect worsening cancellations and delays this week even if the government shutdown ends, as the Federal Aviation Administration rolls out deeper cuts to flights at 40 major U.S. airports, officials said Monday.

The fourth day of the flight restrictions saw airlines scrap over 2,200 flights Monday and more than 1,000 flights set for takeoff Tuesday. Unpaid for more than a month, some air traffic controllers have begun calling out of work, citing stress and the need to take on second jobs.

President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to pressure controllers to “get back to work, NOW!!!” He called for a $10,000 bonus for those who’ve stayed on the job and suggested docking pay for those who haven’t.

Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, ranking member of the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, condemned the president’s remarks, saying controllers deserve appreciation and support — not attacks.

“We should be retaining our most experienced controllers, not slandering them and pushing them to leave their careers early,” Duckworth’s statement said.

The head of the controllers union says its members are being used as a “political pawn” in the shutdown fight.

Meanwhile, the Senate was nearing a vote to end the shutdown, though the bill would also need to clear the House and final passage could be days away. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made clear last week that flight cuts will remain in place until the FAA sees staffing levels stabilize at its air traffic control facilities.

And because the flight disruptions are widespread and ongoing, many planes aren’t where they’re supposed to be, which could also slow the airlines’ return to normal operations even after the FAA lifts the order, said Mike Taylor, who leads research on airports and airlines at J.D. Power.

“If you think about it, there’s all these aircraft that didn’t fly where they were supposed to on a normal route,” Taylor said, noting airlines will need to track down all their planes, figure out where each needs to be, and find pilots and cabin crew for those flights.

Since Friday, airlines have canceled about 8,000 flights under orders to drop 4% of flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports. That will rise to 6% on Tuesday and 10% by week’s end, the FAA says.

One in 10 flights nationwide were scratched Sunday — the fourth worst day for cancellations in almost two years, according aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Controller shortages also led to five-hour delays Monday evening at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where wintry weather added to the disruptions earlier in the day, and the FAA warned that staffing at over a dozen towers and control centers could cause delays in cities including Philadelphia, Nashville and Atlanta.

That leaves travelers are growing angry.

“All of this has real negative consequences for millions of Americans, and it’s 100% unnecessary and avoidable,” said Todd Walker, who missed his mom’s 80th birthday when his flight from San Francisco to Washington state was canceled over the weekend.

The FAA also expanded flight restrictions Monday, barring business jets and many private flights from using a dozen airports already under commercial flight limits.

Airports nationwide have seen intermittent delays since the shutdown began because the FAA slows air traffic when it’s short on controllers to ensure flights remain safe.

The shutdown has made controllers’ demanding jobs even more stressful, leading to fatigue and increased risks, said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. He said the number who are retiring or quitting is “growing” by the day.

During the six weekends since the shutdown began, an average of 30 air traffic control facilities had staffing issues. That’s almost four times the number on weekends this year before the shutdown, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans sent through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system.

Tuesday will be the second missed payday for controllers. It’s unclear how quickly they might be paid once the shutdown ends — it took more than two months to receive full back pay after the 35-day shutdown that ended in 2019, Daniels said.

The latest shutdown and money worries have become regular “dinnertime conversations” for Amy Lark and her husband, both Washington, D.C., area air traffic controllers.

“Yesterday, my kids asked me how long we could stay in our house,” Lark said. Still, she said controllers remain “100% committed.”

Yamat reported from Las Vegas and Funk from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Ken Sweet, Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Michael R. Sisak in New York; Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking in Washington; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.