ANA cancels more flights for Dreamliner grounding

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Wednesday it will cancel an additional 368 flights in February, with no end in sight to the global no-fly order on Boeing's Dreamliner. The total number of ANA flights cancelled since the January 16 grounding now stands at more than 1,200, affecting more than 100,000 passengers. ANA said cancellations on domestic routes in the last two weeks of February would amount to 308, while 60 international flights -- including those from Tokyo to Seoul and Seattle -- will be scrapped from February 19 through to the end of the month. The additional cancellations will affect more than 18,000 customers. The next generation plane, of which ANA has 17, suffered a series of glitches last month, prompting a global alert from the US Federal Aviation Administration that led to the worldwide grounding of all 50 operational 787s. The risk of fire from overheating powerpacks emerged as a major concern after pilots were forced to land a domestic ANA flight due to smoke apparently linked to the lithium-ion battery. Probes into the battery issues have so far proved inconclusive.