Alaska Airlines extends Boeing 737 MAX 9 cancellations through Sunday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alaska Airlines said on Thursday it will extend the cancellation of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 flights through Sunday as the Federal Aviation Administration continues to review inspection data from an initial group of 40 planes.

The FAA had said last week that 40 of 171 grounded planes needed to be re-inspected before the agency would review the results and determine if it is safe to allow the MAX 9s to resume flying following the Jan. 5 mid-air cabin blowout on an eight-week old Alaska jet.

Alaska and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that use the aircraft and completed the inspections, have had to cancel thousands of flights this month.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)