Update: American cancels more than 1,000 flights

Editor’s note: This blog was updated at 3:30 p.m. EST to indicate the increased number of cancelations. Originally, about 500 flights were projected to be canceled

I have good and bad news for American Airlines passengers. The bad news is that more than 1,000 flights will be canceled today as a result of emergency inspections of wiring bundles in the wheel wells of its MD-80 aircraft. Cancelations may continue tomorrow.

The good news? When passengers eventually do get flights to their destinations, they’ll be on inspected—and in some cases repaired—planes.

This Associated Press article has the latest details, including the history of this particular issue, which American first tried to fix two weeks ago (you may remember the canceled flights that time, too). FAA inspections this week determined that some of those repairs were done incorrectly the first time.

A New York Times article has important information for passengers about how to manage canceled bookings. I’ll offer a quick summary here, but if you’re a passenger, the best thing to do is to read the article and then head over to American’s website.

American is:

• attempting to notify passengers about canceled flights
• covering the cost of hotel rooms, meals, and ground transportation for stranded passengers
• not yet sure how many flights will be canceled on Thursday