Airlines were ordered to inspect all operating Airbus SAS A380 aircraft, as Europe’s air safety regulator escalates required checks after the wings of the double-decker superjumbo developed cracks.
The directive by the European Aviation Safety Agency addresses all 68 A380s in operation, after the watchdog had initially targeted only the 20 most heavily used airliners in a previous request. Carriers must report their inspections to Airbus, which said the plane remains safe to fly.
The hairline cracks stem from an assembly process that Airbus has said it knows how to fix. The company is seeking to protect the reputation of its flagship aircraft, whose popularity with passengers has yet to translate into profitability for the manufacturer. Singapore Airlines Inc., the first operator of the aircraft in 2007, said it’s repaired most of the 10 jets in its fleet and put them back into service.
Emirates, the biggest customer for the A380, said it has inspected four of its A380s and that the new directive doesn’t affect operations. Emirates, based in Dubai, has ordered 90 of the $375 million jetliner, and already operates 20 in its fleet. Qantas Airways Ltd. is the second-largest customer for the A380, with 12. The Australian carrier pulled one A380 out of service today after finding the fissures in the wings.
The wings for the A380 are built in Broughton in the U.K., where Airbus employs more than 5,000 people. The structures are partly made from carbon fiber material and are transported by road and river to the sea from where they are shipped to the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse for final assembly.
Airbus, the largest maker of passenger jets, has said short-term repairs will take as many as five days for each plane, while a longer-term solution will include new materials and a different way of assembly. The A380 that Qantas pulled out of service will remain on the ground for as long as a week.
A total of 253 A380s have been ordered by 19 customers. That compares with more than 1,500 Boeing Co. 747 jumbo jets, which debuted in the late 1960s and dominated the market for very large commercial aircraft for decades.
Besides Emirates, Singapore and Qantas, the aircraft is operated by Air France KLM Group, which has has eight, while Deutsche Lufthansa AG has six, Korean Air Lines Co. has five, and China Southern Co. has two. The aircraft has two levels and typically seats about 550 passengers.
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