Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways announced on Tuesday that 15 of its Airbus A350 jets would need a component replacement after a thorough examination following an earlier in-flight failure.
To allow time for repairs, the airline has canceled 10 regional flights scheduled for Wednesday, bringing the total number of halted flights this week to 68.
Any more cancellations in the coming days will be announced by 2pm on Wednesday, according to the airline.
The Hong Kong flag-carrier said on Tuesday afternoon that it had thoroughly inspected all of its 48 A350 jets, identifying 15 aircraft with engine components that needed to be replaced.
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Three of them have already been repaired, and the remaining aircraft are anticipated to resume operations by Saturday, according to Cathay.
The issue surfaced on Monday, when the company’s CX383 flight to Zurich, Switzerland, reported an engine component failure after taking off from Hong Kong International Airport. The plane returned to the city safely.
Cathay did not provide a detailed description of the failed engine component, but said it was “the first of its type to fail on any A350 aircraft worldwide”.
Following the incident, it grounded its A350 fleet for troubleshooting and canceled 68 flights from Monday to Wednesday, including routes to Tokyo, Osaka, Taipei, Bangkok, and Singapore.
The airline promised that long-haul flights on Wednesday would not be disrupted, and that any stranded passengers will be provided with alternate travel plans.
Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department voiced concerns about the incident, stating that it will stay in close communication with Cathay and relevant authorities and take suitable follow-up procedures to guarantee aviation safety.
The Hong Kong Airport Authority advised customers taking flights operated by the airline to remain vigilant for flight information updates.
“(They are recommended to) head to the airport after confirming their flights with the airline,” said a HKAA spokesperson in response to an inquiry from China Daily.
Produced by the European manufacturer Airbus, all A350 jets have engines solely supplied by Rolls-Royce, which is renowned for producing superior aircraft engines and luxury automobiles.
As of April, almost 600 A350s have been produced and delivered to airlines around the world, according to an earlier statement by Airbus.
Tokyo-based Japan Airlines (JAL) , which has five A350-1000s that are all less than a year old, said it had asked Rolls-Royce for more information and had not stopped A350 flights in the meantime.
"If the engine manufacturer takes any further action, we will respond accordingly," a JAL spokesperson said.
Rolls-Royce had not yet issued a directive to airlines regarding possible inspections, according to an industry source who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency confirmed that it has also contacted Airbus and Rolls-Royce for follow-up investigation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, Rolls-Royce said that CX383 was powered by its Trent XWB-97 engines and vowed to collaborate closely with Cathay, Airbus and relevant authorities to support their probes.
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Shares in the engine maker slumped by over eight percent after Cathay reported the failure.
The manufacturer also confirmed that the replacement of the engine component can be completed whilst the engine is on-wing.
Local media reported that the nation’s top aviation regulator — the Civil Aviation Administration of China — has been involved in the probe to assess whether the 60-plus A350 aircraft operated by Chinese mainland airlines need to be inspected.
Nike Ng Lai-kei, lecturer of Department of Engineering of Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Tsing Yi), assured the public not to worry about traveling by plane, saying it is still quite safe thanks to the safety standards and mature guidelines in every aspect of the aviation industry.
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The pilot decided to return the aircraft in question on Monday as a precaution, Ng said.
Ng said it was up to Cathay’s investigation report to reveal the incident’s cause, including whether the problems stem from the same batch of components.
With Reuters inputs
