Alexandria, Va. ? A bankruptcy judge granted US Airways authority Friday to immediately cut the pay of its union workers by 21 percent through mid-February, saying the airline’s situation is so dire that urgent action must be taken.

The 21 percent pay cut is nearly all of the 23 percent reduction the air carrier had sought.

“Basically what we have here is a ticking fiscal time bomb,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell said.

The temporary pay cuts are in place until Feb. 15, 2005, one month short of what the airline had sought.

Mitchell also granted the airline authority to reduce the size of its jet fleet.

Under the 21 percent cut, the average US Airways salary would drop from $59,509 to $47,012. That would put US Airways below the other five major traditional carriers as well as Southwest Airlines, but higher than JetBlue and America West, two carriers US Airways now seeks to emulate.