Some Airline CEOs Pushed Trump Officials to Justify Flight Cuts

Days before US 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 Trump administration’s measures.

On a Nov. 5 call with Federal Aviation AdministrationAdministrator Bryan Bedford, some airline leaders asked if the agency was seeing risks that the carriers might not have been aware of, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bedford, a former aviation executive, shot down any concerns over a plan to cut 10% of flights across 40 major airports, saying it was the FAA’s decision — not airlines’ — ...