MOSCOW, Sept 3 – Hong Kong’s airline Cathay Pacific has said that it had to ground its entire fleet of 48 Airbus A350 planes and cancel 24 return flights after detecting engine problems, reported Sputnik.
“Following the inflight return involving Cathay Pacific flight CX383 to Zurich earlier today, we identified an engine component failure in the A350 aircraft in question… As a precautionary measure, we also proactively initiated a fleet-wide inspection of our 48 A350 aircraft,” the carrier said in a statement on Monday.
Airbus A350’s engines are manufactured by UK-based company Rolls-Royce.
“Each aircraft is undergoing a rigorous inspection. Upon completion, the aircraft cleared for operation will return to service, while those identified with technical issues will undergo further repair and maintenance work,” Cathay Director Engineering Keith Brown said.
The airline said a number of aircraft would be out of service for several days affecting return flights to Bangkok, Taipei, Singapore, Osaka and Tokyo, among others.
