Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) has further extended the suspension of its Boeing 787 operations to 31 May.
This is an indication that the 787 launch customer expects the problematic aircraft to stay grounded for at least another three months. Earlier, ANA had only announced plans to cancel 787 flights till 30 March.
The carrier will be cancelling more than 1,700 flights in April and May, bringing the total number of flights that will be cancelled - since January - to over 3,600, affecting more than 167,820 passengers.
Japan Airlines has, meanwhile, suspended the operations of its 787 fleet till 30 March, saying that it will assess the situation of the ongoing investigations before deciding on subsequent plans.
Japan's transport ministry ordered the grounding of the Japanese 787 fleet on 17 January, following a directive issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration after an ANA 787 had to make an emergency landing because of a battery-related problem.
US government officials are reviewing a Boeing proposal for a possible solution to the battery problems that are still undiagnosed. This could reportedly allow the aircraft type to resume operations by late March.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
