American Airlines said Wednesday it had been forced to cancel over 1000 scheduled flights because of tests the government required on wiring fitted to its fleet of MD-80 aircraft.

The cancellations created havoc for travellers across the United States who had booked Wednesday flights with American Airlines, the country's biggest carrier.

Company officials said the airline was forced to ground the flights so it could comply with a directive issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requiring it to inspect the bundling of wires in the wheel wells of its passenger jets.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused our customers," American Airlines chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey said.

American's problems are the latest to rattle the airline industry which is already suffering from high fuel prices and growing customer dissatisfaction over delays, cancellations and lost luggage.

British Airways, a major international carrier, had to cancel dozens of flights last month because of critical operating problems linked to the opening of the new Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport.

US news reports Wednesday said the flight cancellations had disrupted travellers at Chicago's O'Hare airport, Dallas-Fort Worth airport and other cities served by American including Seattle, New York, St. Louis and Austin.

American said it had deployed teams of engineers and technicians to inspect its MD-80 aircraft to ensure the jets are safe to operate and that the wire bundling complies with FAA mandates.

The airline said customers who were affected by the cancelled flights could access American Airlines' website, www.aa.com, to apply for compensation. Arpey said American was working hard to restore a full flight schedule as soon as possible.

The latest flight cancellations come after American had cancelled hundreds of flights on Tuesday as it worked to inspect wire bundlings in aircraft wheel wells. Officials said as many as 500 flights had been cancelled on Tuesday, but warned that fresh cancellations could occur.

Jets flew with alleged cracks in their fuselages

The FAA has raised concerns about the way American followed a directive relating to wiring in wheel wells of MD-80 fleet.

Last week, FAA whistleblowers denounced conduct by officials at Southwest Airlines that led to some aircraft inspections being skipped, allowing some jets to fly with alleged cracks in their fuselages.

The FAA conducted an audit of all domestic airlines' maintenance paperwork after Southwest was fined $10.2-million for flying dozens of planes without undergoing proper fuselage inspections.

US aviation safety chief Robert Sturgell said last week that a two-week audit of all domestic airlines, prompted by incidents at Southwest, showed a 99 percent compliance rate with government safety directives.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants meanwhile urged American's management to "do the right thing" and pay its flight attendants for wages lost as a result of the MD-80 flight cancellations.

"American will do whatever it takes to assist those affected by these flight changes and our employees are working hard to ensure that we remain their choice for air travel," Arpey added.

AFP