Your vacation probably isn't in any jeopardy after the Alaska Airlines blowout

• Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have canceled around 500 flights due to the 737 MAX 9 grounding.
• Although only 171 jets worldwide are affected, requiring an inspection before returning to service.

Friday's emergency landing of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 has seen around 500 flights canceled by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, but the disruption probably isn't as bad as you might think.

It comes after the Federal Aviation Administration issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive on Saturday, which temporarily grounded certain 737 MAX 9 jets.

The FAA said it will affect about 171 aircraft worldwide, which appears to be because they feature the same plug door that was blown out during the Alaska Airlines incident. There are 215 of the single-aisle MAX 9 jets currently in service around the world, per Reuters. Most are operated by United and Alaska Airlines.

The plug door is a deactivated emergency exit that appears like a normal window panel to passengers inside the plane.

Operators can choose a plug door instead of an additional emergency exit to increase capacity.

The FAA's order requires these aircraft to be inspected before they can return to the air, which it said will take four to eight hours each.

Alaska Airlines said it expects "additional significant cancellations," but only through the first half of this week. It added that around 25,000 passengers have been affected so far.

So if you are flying on a 737 MAX 9 in the next couple of days, your trip could be canceled.

But for now, it looks like this grounding won't be nearly as disruptive as the 20-month order issued against the 737 MAX in 2019.

However, things could change as the NTSB continues its investigation.

After an appeal, the Alaska Airlines plug door was found by a school teacher in his backyard on Sunday. It could hold key insights into what caused it to come off in midair.