Engine issue forces Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific to cancel flights, ground entire A350 fleet

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific has temporarily grounded its fleet of A350 aircraft for inspections after a “first of its type” engine component failure forced a flight to Zurich to turn back on Monday.

Cathay is conducting fleet-wide inspection of its 48 Airbus A350 aircraft and “a number of aircraft will be out of service for several days”, the airline said in a statement Monday night.

The airline has cancelled 24 return flights up until the end of Tuesday, it added.

Eight of Cathay’s nine flights from Hong Kong to Singapore on Tuesday were axed, according to the airline’s website.

Flights to Bangkok, Tokyo, Taipei and Osaka were cancelled as well.

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The move came after a Cathay flight to Zurich on Monday was forced to return and the company identified an engine component failure, it said, without saying which component.

“This component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide,” the airline said.

A precautionary fleet-wide inspection found a number of the same engine components that needed to be replaced, according to Cathay.

Cathay engineering director Keith Brown said the company was liaising with Hong Kong’s aviation authorities as well as the aircraft and engine manufacturers.

“Each aircraft is undergoing a rigorous inspection,” Brown said, according to the statement.

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“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 is among the largest operators worldwide of the A350 jet.

Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce told Bloomberg News that it was “committed to working closely with the airline, aircraft manufacturer and the relevant authorities to support their investigation into this incident”.

Rolls-Royce shares traded down 6.47 percent in London Monday.

The engine manufacturer said this year that it was investing more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) to upgrade its lineup of commercial aircraft engines.

Last November, Emirates chief executive Tim Clark expressed concerns about the durability and longevity of A350 engines.

Rolls-Royce has defended its Trent XWB-97 engine – used in the A350’s larger variant – and said it was taking steps to improve the engine’s durability.

Cathay said last month that it planned to buy up to 60 Airbus A330-900 jetliners, which would add to its fleet of more than 230 aircraft.

The airline said it was “on track to reach 100 percent” of its pre-pandemic passenger levels in the first quarter of next year, having earlier struggled to overcome a manpower crunch.