Passengers wait in line at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Wednesday. American Airlines cancelled more than 900 flights yesterday to fix faulty wiring in hundreds of jets, marking the third straight day of mass groundings as company executives offered profuse apologies and travel vouchers to calm angry customers. - AP

DALLAS (AP):

American Airlines cancelled more than 900 flights yesterday to fix faulty wiring in hundreds of jets, marking the third straight day of mass groundings as company executives offered profuse apologies and travel vouchers to calm angry customers.

A spokesman said the cancellations would go into Saturday, but that American expected all of the grounded planes to be flying again by Saturday night.

Scrambling

Other carriers operating similar aircraft also left passengers scrambling for alternatives as they also grounded flights to inspect the wire bundles at the heart of a renewed safety crackdown by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Alaska Airlines cancelled 11 more flights early yesterday as it continued to inspect its nine MD-80 jets. Spokeswoman Caroline Boren in Seattle said that followed 28 cancellations on Wednesday and three on Tuesday. The airline was working to accommodate affected passengers, she said.

Midwest Airlines cancelled at least 10 flights yesterday after it grounded all of its 13 MD-80 planes to deal with the same issue. Spokesman Mike Brophy said federal regulators cleared the planes to fly, but airline executives decided they should be reinspected by Midwest personnel.