The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded PSA Airlines fleet for inspection, forcing the American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) subsidiary airline to cancel flights.
Due to a maintenance issue, discovered on January 28, 2021, American Airlines Group’s regional subsidiary PSA Airlines canceled 230 flights and temporarily removed from service most of its 130 aircraft.
“Out of an abundance of caution, PSA Airlines has temporarily removed most of its aircraft from service in order to complete a necessary, standard inspection on the nose gear door. We are working with PSA and the FAA to immediately address the issue,” said a spokeswoman for the airline.
“The airline voluntarily disclosed the matter to the FAA, and the agency is working with the airline to address the situation,” said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
On January 28, 2021, inspection of more than 90 aircraft was done, with the remaining aircraft to be inspected the following day.
American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) is working on facilitating the cancelations and rebooking new flights for its shared customers. “We are working with our customers to arrange new accommodations on other flights and we are working to return the impacted aircraft to service.”
PSA Airlines operates domestic flights to 90 airports in the United States, from such hubs as Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington, DC, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina. The regional carrier’s fleet consists of all Bombardier aircraft, including 130 CRJ700 and CRJ900 jets, according to the airlines’ website.
Currently, passenger traffic in the US is at its lowest since July 2020. On January 27, 2021, about 536,000 people were screened at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, compared with 1.7 million on the same day last year.