Ansett 767s to remain grounded for several days

7.00 pm

None of the grounded Ansett 767s are likely to be back in the air for at least a couple of days, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) said today.

Casa ordered Ansett, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, to ground its ten 767 aircraft on Thursday, and prove by May 4 that its planes were safe or lose its licence.

Casa said they would spend tonight looking through the planes' data and documentation.

They said they hope to complete checks on the first aircraft in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile Air New Zealand chief executive Gary Toomey, in Melbourne to try and sort out the crisis, announced plans to relaunch the Ansett brand and buy new planes after the airline gets the all-clear from safety concerns.

A total of 37,000 people were booked to fly Ansett today. The airline chartered six planes from its global partners to help ensure minimum disruption to passengers.