Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said on Wednesday that maintenance on its Airbus A350 airplanes continues to progress well and that the fleet would fully resume operations by Saturday.

The inspections and repairs to the Rolls-Royce engines that power its fleet of 48 A350 jets led the airline to cancel 45 return flights on mostly regional Asian routes this week, Cathay said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

Further to flight cancellations announced so far, the carrier expects to cancel 11 additional regional return flights from Sept 5 to 7, it added.

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The statement came a day after Cathay found 15 planes that needed fuel line repairs following the in-flight failure of an engine part this week.

“Of these (planes), six have already undergone successful repairs and are cleared to operate. The remaining nine aircraft will be repaired and are expected to resume operation by Saturday,” reads the statement.

All affected customers have been informed and provided with alternative travel options on Cathay Pacific and other airlines as appropriate, it added.

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The airline apologized to the customers whose travel plans were affected by the incident.

“This was a significant situation for Cathay to manage as the engine component failure was the first of its type to occur on any A350 aircraft anywhere in the world,” said Chief Operations and Service Delivery Officer Alex McGowan.

Stressing that completing thorough inspection and maintenance for all A350 aircraft within such a short timeframe has been challenging, he said, “The ability to safely deal with and resolve this issue reflects the can-do spirit of Cathay’s people.”

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The Reuters news agency quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that a leak in a fuel system appeared to have caused a brief engine fire that was quickly extinguished by the crew of a Zurich-bound A350-1000 plane on Monday, which returned to Hong Kong just over an hour after take-off.

There were no immediate signs that the incident would trigger significant regulatory action involving the A350 fleet, the person added.