The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that operations had returned to normal on Thursday, a day after its national pilot-alert system shut down and the agency grounded all domestic flights for nearly two hours.

In response to an influx of last-minute bookings made after Southwest Airlines Co. capped fares in some cities, rival airlines have followed suit.

As soon as residents of Hong Kong heard that China would no longer require inbound travelers to quarantine as of early next year, they flooded the internet in search of flights to key mainland cities.

The National Weather Service has predicted that the city, a major US air hub, will experience winds that could make temperatures feel like minus 35F (minus 37C), even though the area only receives 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow annually.

On Tuesday, lawmakers revealed an omnibus spending bill that would provide Boeing Co. with a reprieve from a regulatory deadline concerning safety features on two 737 MAX models.