American Airlines, the world's largest carrier, said it was canceling as many as 500 flights on Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday, as the airline struggles with further government inspections of its MD-80 aircrafts.

The airline owned by the AMR Corporation said in a statement that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) raised new concerns about recent wiring inspections in its fleet of 300 MD-80s, which resulted in canceled flights two weeks ago.

American said the inspections were related to compliance, not safety, issues. The inspection will check that the wiring bundle in the wheel wells is stowed properly.

The Fort Worth-based airline said it will re-accommodate passengers on other American flights or flights operated by airlines in the same market.

We regret and apologize that we are once again causing inconvenience to our customers, but we will continue to work in good faith until we satisfy all of the technical issues related to this airworthiness directive, American CEO Gerard Arpey said in a statement.

The latest inspections are part of the second phase of an industry-wide examination of compliance with safety directives. Other airlines, including Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, have undergone the same examinations in which problems were found, resulting in flight cancellations.