by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:15 AM ET, Mon April 23, 2018
As a result of Southwest Airlines' accelerated engine fan blade inspection program, the carrier was forced to delay or outright cancel flights Sunday and Monday.
According to FlightAware.com as of 9 a.m. ET, almost 250 Southwest flights were delayed or canceled Monday across the United States. The travel headaches to start the week come after the airline was forced to cancel around 50 flights Sunday.
The flight disruptions come days after the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive Friday that all CFM56-7B engines, similar to the one that exploded and killed a woman on Southwest Flight 1380, would have to be inspected within 20 days.
Southwest originally announced its own accelerated engine fan blade inspection program Tuesday, but the FAA directive will speed up the process. As a result, additional delays and cancellations are expected this week.
To minimize the impact of the required tests on daily flights across the country, Southwest officials will be working to re-route aircraft, use spare planes when available and conducting inspections overnight.
In a statement from Southwest, the airline explained how the FAA directive is not causing the flight disruptions:
"These cancellations are not because of Friday night's Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the FAA. The cancellations are a result of our voluntary, accelerated engine fan blade inspection program announced on Tuesday night."
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