ANA Cancels Dreamliner Flights until End of May

All Nippon Airways has cancelled all Dreamliner flights until at least the end of May, in the latest blow to Boeing. International regulators grounded all 787 Dreamliners in January so that safety checks could be carried out on their lithium ion batteries.

ANA has said it is cancelling more than 1,700 flights in April and May, a period that includes Japan's Golden Week holiday, reports the BBC. The Japanese airline is Dreamliner' biggest customer, with 17 of the world's 50 operational 787s.

Referring to the extended period of cancellations, an ANA spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately, it includes Golden Week, but we have decided to inform our customers in advance as the prospect for their resumption is still unseen."

Boeing's entire fleet of Dreamliners was grounded after a battery on a Japan Airlines 787 caught fire, and a malfunction forced an ANA flight to make an emergency landing. Earlier this month, Thomson Airways confirmed it is putting contingency plans in place in case it cannot go ahead with its Dreamliner launch in May, see previous story.

On Friday, Boeing gave US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), its plan to fix the battery problems, which includes a new ceramic insulation around each of the battery's eight cells. If agreed, it is believed this could see Dreamliners back flying by mid-April.