Days before U.S. government-mandated flight cuts went into effect across domestic carriers, some airline executives privately pressed for more information on whether the safety data justified the Trum...

Airlines canceled 1,200 flights on Tuesday as air traffic control staffing improved significantly ahead of an expected end to a record-setting government shutdown as soon as Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to cut 4% of daily flights starting last week at 40 major airports because of air traffic control safety concerns.