US airlines battle as 4% flight cuts kick in

US AIRLINES ON Friday scrambled to cut 4% of flights at 40 major airports after the government imposed an unprecedented cut to air travel citing air traffic control safety concerns because of a record-setting government shutdown.

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The cuts, which began at 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers - American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines - and are set to rise t