(Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration told airlines on Thursday to cut 4% of flights at 40 high-traffic airports starting Friday, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The level then increases by two percentage points each on Tuesday and next Thursday, reaching 10% on November 14. 

The cuts, expected to impact hundreds of thousands of travelers, seek to address safety concerns due to a shortage of air traffic controllers during a record-setting U.S. government shutdown.

AIRPORTS AFFECTED

* Anchorage, Alaska - ANC - Ted Stevens AnchorageInternational Airport * Atlanta, Georgia - ATL - Hartsfield-Jackson AtlantaInternational * Boston, Massachusetts - BOS - Boston Logan International * Baltimore, Maryland - BWI - Baltimore/WashingtonInternational * Charlotte, North Carolina - CLT - Charlotte DouglasInternational * Hebron, Kentucky - CVG - Cincinnati/Northern KentuckyInternational * Dallas, Texas - DAL - Dallas Love Field * Arlington, Virginia - DCA - Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational * Denver, Colorado - DEN - Denver International * Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas - DFW - Dallas/Fort WorthInternational * Romulus, Michigan - DTW - Detroit Metropolitan WayneCounty * Newark, New Jersey - EWR - Newark Liberty International * Fort Lauderdale, Florida - FLL - Fort Lauderdale/HollywoodInternational * Honolulu, Hawaii- HNL - Honolulu International * Houston, Texas - HOU - William P. Hobby Airport * Dulles, Virginia - IAD - Washington Dulles International * Houston, Texas - IAH - George Bush HoustonIntercontinental * Indianapolis, Indiana - IND - Indianapolis International * New York, New York - JFK - New York John F. KennedyInternational * Las Vegas, Nevada - LAS - Las Vegas McCarran International * Los Angeles, California - LAX - Los Angeles International * New York, New York - LGA - New York LaGuardia * Orlando, Florida - MCO - Orlando International * Chicago, Illinois - MDW - Chicago Midway * Memphis, Tennessee - MEM - Memphis International * Miami, Florida - MIA - Miami International * Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota - MSP - Minneapolis/St.Paul International * Oakland, California - OAK - Oakland International * Ontario, California - ONT - Ontario International * Chicago, Illinois - ORD - Chicago O'Hare International * Portland, Oregon - PDX - Portland International * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - PHL - PhiladelphiaInternational * Phoenix, Arizona - PHX - Phoenix Sky Harbor International * San Diego, California - SAN - San Diego International * Louisville, Kentucky - SDF - Louisville International * Seattle, Washington - SEA - Seattle/Tacoma International * San Francisco, California - SFO - San FranciscoInternational * Salt Lake City, Utah - SLC - Salt Lake City International * Teterboro, New Jersey - TEB - Teterboro * Tampa, Florida - TPA - Tampa InternationalCUTS BY THE NUMBERS

* 1,800 flights and 268,000 airline seats are estimated tobe cut per day when the full 10% reduction takes effect,according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. * To meet the cuts on Friday, Delta said it would cancelabout 170 flights, Southwest about 120 flights and AmericanAirlines about 220 flights. United said it would cut 4% offlights but did not specify a number. * Airlines can face a $75,000 fine for each flight operatedover the limit, the FAA said. The agency threatened to imposecuts if carriers did not make cuts equitably across communities.