AirTran Airways and American Airlines have been denied an extension from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to install improved cockpit doors.
The FAA has set April 9 as a firm date by which all airlines must have installed upgraded cockpit doors that are inpenetrable from cabin attack. All planes without the new doors installed by the deadline will be grounded.
The deadline is the second step of an upgrade effort enacted just after the Sept. 11 attacks. The first step was reinforcing cockpit doors with special locks and bars as temporary solutions.
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