New Delhi, Nov. 13 -- The US Transportation Department and Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning IST) that flight cuts would remain at 6% instead of being raised to 8%, as was originally planned.

US airlines had earlier 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 federal government shutdown.

On 6 November, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced a temporary plan to cut 10% of flights at 40 high-traffic airports across the country, potentially impacting thousands of flights.

"Since the beginnin...