United Grounds Flights Today For Safety Checks

United Airlines sent out a press release this morning saying they are pulling all 52 of its Boeing 777 aircraft, mainly used for International flights. About half a dozen international flights destined for SFO were cancelled as of 9am today.

In their statement, United says passengers traveling April 2 may experience flight delays or cancellations for fire-system maintenance checks. United said the checks resulted from a review of maintenance records and discovery that the functional test that checks the firing system on one of the five bottles in the cargo fire suppression system on Boeing 777 was not performed. Not all the aircraft can be checked today, and the company warned of additional flight delays or cancellations over the next 24-36 hours.

In their statement United says it "is currently working to provide additional aircraft where available and is accommodating customers on other flights and other airlines. Customers can check which aircraft they are scheduled to fly on at united.com."