Overhead Bin Issue Prompts American Airlines to Ground Planes, Cancel Flights

American Airlines has been forced to cancel nearly 40 flights after grounding more than a dozen of its Boeing 737 aircraft due to issues with newly installed overhead bins.

In a statement to USA Today on Thursday, the airline said it “identified an issue with the quality of work conducted on overhead bins on two of these Boeing 737-800 aircraft.”

“After further inspection by American, the work that was conducted on these two aircraft was not up to our standards,” the carrier added. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed from service the additional 12 aircraft that were updated by this vendor and have notified the FAA.”

American Airlines said it’s now working with the vendor and the FAA to address the issue “immediately.”

The airline said it has rebooked all impacted travelers and will “work proactively to get our customers to their final destination.” According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, American has canceled 51 flights as of 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

American Airlines operates more than 300 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline previously announced plans to remodel the interiors of its Boeing 737 jets, adding more seats to increase revenue as well as installing larger overhead bins and electrical outlets at each seat.

Last month, Southwest Airlines was forced to cancel hundreds of flights due to ongoing maintenance issues that are reportedly costing the airline millions each week.

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