News

Southwest cancels flights after hole found in B737 roof

3 Apr 2011 by BusinessTraveller

US carrier Southwest Airlines has cancelled around 300 flights today (April 3), after a hole in the roof of one of its B737 aircraft forced an emergency landing.

The incident occured on April 1 during a flight between Phoenix and Sacremento, with Southwest Airlines reporting the Boeing 737 aircraft suffered a loff of cabin pressurisation, forcing the flight to divert to Yuma.

The carrier said that "Upon safely landing in Yuma, the flight crew discovered a hole in the top of the aircraft". Southwest said that no customers were injured during the incident, although one crew member "received a minor injury upon descent".

As a result Southwest has grounded 79 of its B737 aircraft "which are covered by a set of Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Directives aimed at inspections for aircraft skin fatigue".

The move has led to the carrier cancelling around 300 flights both yesterday and today (Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3). Southwest said it was "working to minimize the impact to our customers but there will be some delays across the system".

The airline is advising travellers to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport. For more information visit southwest.com.

Report by Mark Caswell

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