earlier in the year could be affected by a lawsuit which has been launched in the US.

A Dallas law firm has filed the suit on behalf of two Fort Worth residents, seeking up to 50 percent refunds for all passengers whose tickets were hit by a sickout by American Airlines pilots.

And lawyers acting for the pair are now seeking other travellers who held tickets during the dispute period.

In February, Bermuda lost many American Airlines flights as pilots called in sick.

Flights to and from New York were cancelled for several days, and travel plans for many were disrupted as services were lost whilst the dispute continued.

American Airlines staff on the Island tried to get people on other carriers, but not all could be accommodated.

A US federal magistrate ruled that the lawsuit could go ahead. It is claiming up to $100 million from the Allied Pilots Association, whose members staged the sickout.

The pilots association had sought to dismiss the passengers' class-action suit, claiming pilots had the right to resort to the job action under labour laws.

US magistrate Jeff Kaplan restricted the plaintiffs to passengers who experienced problems after February 10, when a back-to-work order was issued.

About 4,000 cancellations occurred after the order.

"The outcome was the best outcome we could have hoped for,'' said attorney John Malesovas, lead counsel for the passengers.

The union said it planned to ask US District Judge Jorge Solis, who is presiding over the case, to review the ruling of the magistrate.

"The APA does differ with the magistrate on a limited number of issues and will pursue those issues with Judge Solis,'' the union said on Wednesday.

Last month, the union and Fort Worth-based American resolved the dispute that led to the sickout.

The dispute was about how to incorporate pilots from Reno Air, which American had acquired, into the ranks of American pilots.