WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Major U.S. airlines are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to drop mandatory 6% domestic flight cuts at 40 major airports imposed to address air traffic safety concerns after the end of a record setting government shutdown.

Airlines are largely not in compliance with the FAA order that requires much steeper cuts. Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said airlines canceled just 2% of overall flights Friday, down from 3.5% Thursday. On Friday, air traffic controllers and other FAA employees began receiving partial back pay, the FAA and union officials said.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Nick Zieminski)

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