Cathay Pacific Cancels Flights as It Inspects Airbus Jets After Engine Issues — Update

By Kimberley Kao

Cathay Pacific has canceled dozens of flights as it inspects its fleet of Airbus 350 jets after discovering engine issues on one of the planes during a flight to Switzerland.

The Hong Kong airline said in a statement late Monday that it is conducting inspections of 48 Airbus 350 jets, affecting flight schedules as it expects a number of aircraft to be out of service for several days.

Cathay has so far canceled some flights between Hong Kong and Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and Japan due to the inspections, according to the carrier's website.

The move comes after Cathay identified an "engine component failure" on a flight bound for Zurich that was forced to return to Hong Kong on Monday. The component "was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide," the carrier said, but didn't specify the engine part.

The Zurich-bound A350-1000 plane performed two wide circles over the sea less than half an hour after taking off, then returning to Hong Kong where it landed safely around 75 minutes after its departure, according to flight-tracking site FlightRadar24.

As a "precautionary measure," Cathay said it decided to inspect its A350 fleet.

"Each aircraft is undergoing a rigorous inspection," Cathay's engineering director, Keith Brown, said in the statement. "Upon completion, the aircraft cleared for operation will return to service, while those identified with technical issues will undergo further repair and maintenance work," Brown said.

The inspections conducted so far show that a number of the same engine components need to be replaced on some of the planes, Cathay said. Repair work is under way, the airline added.

Airbus said in an emailed response that it is aware of the situation and is in touch with Rolls-Royce--the manufacturer of the engine for the Airbus 350 jets--as well as Cathay Pacific, and referred to both companies for further comment.

Rolls-Royce has been contacted for further comment.

Shares in the engine maker last closed down 6.5% in London, its worst one-day performance in over a year.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 03, 2024 01:06 ET (05:06 GMT)

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