Hundreds of flights cancelled across U.S. in bid to maintain safety

U.S. airlines began cancelling hundreds of flights on Thursday as the Federal Aviation Administration sought to reduce traffic at the country's busiest airports because of the government shutdown.

More than 760 flights had been cut from Friday's airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions, by late Thursday.

The 40 airports selected by the FAA span more than two dozen states and include hubs such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Charlotte, N.C., according to a list distributed to the airlines. In some metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago and Washington, multiple airports will be impacted.

The FAA said in its official order published Thursday evening that the reductions will start at four per cent on Friday and ram