Southwest Grounds 128 Aircraft, FAA Gives 5 Days To Complete Inspections

Southwest Airlines Co LUV grounded 128 Boeing 737-700 Tuesday following a discovery that a maintenance check on a standby hydraulic system was overdue.

According to the company’s press release, “Southwest immediately and voluntarily removed the affected aircraft from service, initiated maintenance checks, disclosed the matter to the FAA, and developed an action plan to complete all overdue checks.”

Approximately 80 flight cancellations occurred Tuesday as the company awaited the FAA's response to the disclosure.

Late Tuesday, the FAA allowed Southwest to continue flying the 737s for another 5 days until the maintenance checks were completed.

The company said that it anticipated “very minimal impact” to flight operations as the checks are completed.

Southwest Airlines Co recently traded at $44.83, down 1.15 percent.