WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether airlines complied with the emergency flight cuts ordered last month during the longest government shutdown in history.

In a statement shared on Dec. 1, the FAA said it alerted airlines this week that the agency's probe would examine which companies followed the mandate to reduce flights at the nation's 40 busiest airports. Airlines under review include those that had more than 10 daily operations at the high-impact airports, the agency said.

The FAA said airlines that failed to comply with the Nov. 12 order could face fines of up to $75,000 per flight that exceeded the limits. The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA rolled the restrictions back to 3%, citing continued improvement

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