American Airlines said it would cancel nearly 500 flights Tuesday as it again performs detailed inspections of a key aircraft model.

The inspections pertain to questions raised by the Federal Aviation Administration and American safety officials about how a certain bundle of wires is secured to the MD-80 aircraft. Airline spokesman Roger Frizzell said the inspections are technical compliance issues and not related to flight safety.

“We’re apologetic for the issues this is causing customers, Frizzell said. “In some situations these adjustments will take only 15 minutes.” But 15 minutes can potentially upset passengers as they have schedules and duties to perform. 

American stated it would cancel upwards of 500 flights Tuesday with additional cancellations likely Wednesday. By about 6:00 pm, American Airlines had already cancelled 409 flights, according to FlightStats, an independent flight tracking service. By comparison to Monday’s total cancellations, FlightStats reported that American scratched only 108 flights on Tuesday for typical reasons.

This cancellation affects business personnel and tourists from Canada and North America’s international boundaries.  It will cause flight delays and result in decreased traffic in the U.S. Tourism market.  Many people would have to re-schedule and take other means of transportation to make it to their destination.  Moreover, passengers will have a negative perception of the airline and more likely lean to its competitors.