JAPAN'S ANA Holdings Inc, which operates the world's biggest fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, said it is removing built-in locator beacons from eight of the jets plying domestic routes after investigators in Britain identified the device as the likely cause of a fire on the aircraft in London earlier this month.

ANA's action, which a spokesman said was "to reassure passengers," goes beyond advice issued by the United States Federal Aviation Administration, which only asked Dreamliner operators to inspect the beacons. ANA has already removed the Honeywell International Inc locators from four 787s and will remove it from four more, but will keep the device in other 12 Dreamliners.