WASHINGTON — The leaders of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation announced Friday that they would reduce flight restrictions at 40 key airports from 6% to 3% starting Saturday, scaling back cuts they had imposed to address air travel disruptions brought on by staffing shortages during the government shutdown.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the 3% restrictions would remain in place while the FAA monitored the situation through the weekend to determine when fully restored operations could resume. Air traffic controller staffing has been steadily improving since the shutdown ended Wednesday night, they said.

Duffy and Bedford launched the cuts a week ago, citing data that they said showed worsening staffing pr

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