American Airlines Says Fleet Is Back in the Air

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American Airlines says it doesn't anticipate more problems today, which is news because last week, the carrier canceled more than 3,000 flights due to a government safety crackdown.

NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

ALLISON KEYES: The flights were canceled after the Federal Aviation Administration found wiring bundles were improperly wrapped and attached inside wheel wells on some of American's MD80 jets. American had canceled some flights in late March due to the same problem and thought it had resolved the issue.

But American Airlines spokesman Charlie Wilson says the fleet of 300 MD80s has now been re-inspected, and the planes have been up and running since yesterday. Still, he urges customers to check on their flights just in case.

Mr. CHARLIE WILSON (Spokesman, American Airline): We would like customers to continue to check AA.com for their flight schedules, even though that's not an issue now. Please continue to do that. And for those who have been inconvenienced, we would appreciate if they would check with AA.com to see about how they can be reimbursed.

KEYES: The airline is still dealing with a backlog of customers whose flights were canceled and couldn't find another way to get to their destinations.

The FAA has been cracking down on airline compliance with safety issues after revelations of maintenance lapses at Southwest Airlines led to congressional hearings.

Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

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