Washington: American Airlines, the nation's biggest airline, grounded nearly 300 of its planes on Wednesday to conduct inspections to make sure they are safe. As a result, thousands of its passengers were looking for alternate transportation, according to wire and TV reports.

The airliner cancelled every flight scheduled on its Boeing MD-80 aircraft, so that the inspectors could make sure the planes are safe to fly. "We are re-inspecting the MD-80s to make sure the wiring is installed and secured, exactly according to the directive," the airline said in a statement.

The directive is a legally enforceable rule from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requiring air carriers to correct unsafe conditions. Earlier this month, Southwest Airlines found itself with more than 40 planes on the ground after failing to verify it. The inspections are a must and can take several hours for each plane.

However, the airline said inspections have already been completed in some of the planes and will return to service.

Source : IANS