Japan airlines hail Dreamliner battery fix approval by US regulators

TOKYO - Japanese airlines welcomed US approval of test flights of the grounded Boeing 787 with prototype versions of the battery fix, holding out hopes for a resumption of its operations.

The worldwide grounding of Dreamliners has thrown airline schedules into disarray, especially in Japan where All Nippon Airways (ANA), the biggest operator of the plane, has been forced to cancel more than 3,600 flights through to the end of May.

US regulators on Tuesday approved Boeing's plan for the 787 batteries and said the company could carry out test flights with the fix.

"ANA, as the launch customer of the 787, hopes its flights will be resumed as early as possible on condition that safety is guaranteed," said the airline spokesman, which hailed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval.