American Airlines cancels over 900 flights

CHICAGO, April 10 (Reuters) - AMR Corp's (AMR.N) American Airlines said it canceled 933 flights on Thursday as it continued to reinspect wiring on MD-80 aircraft, raising the number of flights scratched since Tuesday to nearly 2,500.

The disruption at the No. 1 U.S. airline has wreaked havoc at the nation's busiest airports.

Dallas Fort Worth, American's largest hub, had 269 flights canceled on Thursday. The airline canceled 123 flights at O'Hare airport in Chicago.

More than 100,000 travelers have been affected by the cancellations, the airline estimates.

American ordered the cancellations to ensure compliance with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety directive. American has about 300 of the twin-engined, narrow-body MD-80s, comprising about half its overall fleet.

The airline canceled more than 1,000 flights on Wednesday and 460 flights on Tuesday. These follow hundreds of AMR cancellations two weeks ago for the same reason.

American said on Wednesday it expects to resume normal operations by Saturday.

The inspections at American relate to a 2006 FAA order to ensure that wiring in the MD-80 right wheel well is properly installed and secured to guard against electrical shorts and fire.

AMR performed the work two weeks ago, but an FAA review of that effort found some wire bundles were not secured exactly as the directive specified.

Other carriers that fly MD-80s reinspected their plans, although the repercussions were less severe at those airlines.

Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) voluntarily reinspected about half of its 117 MD-80s Tuesday night and canceled about two dozen flights on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group (ALK.N) canceled 14 flights on Wednesday for the same reason.

Midwest Air Group MEH.A reinspected MD-80s on Thursday, forcing some flight cancellations, according to media reports. A spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

AMR shares were up 6.3 percent at $9.75 in late Thursday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, recovering from steep losses Wednesday. Airlines shares were broadly higher with the Amex airline index .XAL up 2.7 percent.

"Everybody is up, it's kind of like a little rebound from yesterday," said Ray Neidl, airline analyst at Calyon Securities. (Reporting by Kyle Peterson; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)