Cathay Pacific Airways announced it has inspected its entire Airbus A350 fleet after a critical engine component failed during a flight.
The airline found 15 aircraft requiring component replacements and has already repaired three of them. The disruption led to the cancellation of at least 34 flights, but all affected jets are expected to resume operation by Saturday.
Other airlines operating the A350, such as Japan Airlines and Qatar Airways, are monitoring the situation but have not halted flights or conducted similar inspections.
Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer, has yet to issue a directive for inspections, but is working closely with Cathay Pacific and Airbus to address the issue.
The engine failure involved a fuel nozzle in the XWB-97 engine, a model used in the A350-1000. While such failures are rare and generally less alarming than major rotating parts’ failures, any widespread inspections could affect global airline operations.
Cathay Pacific’s stock fell 0.6% following the news, while Rolls-Royce’s shares rose 2.8% as the market responded to the situation.
Source: Reuters