US airlines reduce flight cuts for Friday despite 6% FAA order

U.S. airlines have cut far fewer flights for Friday than the requirement that they cut 6% of domestic flights at the 40 busiest American airports, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium and airline officials.

The Federal Aviation Administration late on Wednesday said it would freeze mandatory flight cuts at 6%, and would not hike cancellation requirements as previously announced. Cirium said that after cancelling around 3.5% of total flights on Wednesday and Thursday, airlines have canceled just 1.4% for Friday.