More flights cancelled in U.S., U.K.

Just a few weeks after Southwest Airlines had to cancel hundreds of flights to perform overdue maintenance checks required by the FAA, travelers faced additional operational snags last week. As a result of the Southwest flap – and charges that the FAA had failed to enforce its own inspection regimen at Southwest – the agency cracked down on the industry by ordering new audits of maintenance records and inspections. As a result, both American and Delta last wee canceled hundreds of flights so they could check specific wiring issues on MD80 and MD90 jets. Both airlines’ schedules were expected to be back to normal this week, but industry observers said other airlines might be forced to ground some aircraft in the weeks ahead for similar unscheduled inspections. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, British Airways started flight operations last week out of its huge new Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, and the debut of the new facility was reportedly marred by problems with baggage handling and security processing. As a result, BA had to cancel up to 20 percent of its Heathrow flights on the first two days of Terminal 5’s operation (Thursday and Friday).