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 WASHINGTON (AP) - It's not just angry passengers who are suffering. The grounding of thousands of flights is disrupting cargo, mail and other crucial business for financially strapped airlines, and that means painful new strains on a U.S. economy teetering on the edge of recession.
Apologetic airlines suggest the cancellations won't extend beyond this weekend. But there are indications the problems may just be beginning as federal regulators step up their scrutiny of carriers' compliance with safety rules.
Air traffic systems, computers and other crucial equipment are aging, as are many of the planes themselves. Critics of the industry say that cutbacks on maintenance and inadequate government safeguards are starting to take a toll.
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