Cathay Pacific cancels 68 flights due to Airbus A350 engine failure

On September 3, Cathay Pacific Airlines canceled a series of Airbus A350 flights to prevent risks related to engine failure - Photo: REUTERS

As announced on the official website, Cathay Pacific said it has canceled 8/9 flights from Hong Kong to Singapore, along with other services across Asia on September 3.

In addition, Cathay Pacific also canceled half of its flights from Hong Kong to Thailand and flights to Tokyo's Narita International Airport.

In total, Cathay Pacific has cancelled 48 flights, including return flights. None of these flights use Airbus 350 aircraft.

A day earlier, the Hong Kong-based airline - one of the world's largest operators of long-haul Airbus A350 aircraft - discovered an engine failure on Airbus A350 flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich, Switzerland.

According to data from global flight tracking app Flightradar24, the Airbus A350 incident occurred just minutes after takeoff.

The plane was initially headed out to sea, flying south of Hong Kong. But instead of quickly turning north to begin its 12-hour journey to Zurich, it circled twice before turning back towards Hong Kong.

Cathay did not provide details of the damaged part, but it is the first time this problem has occurred on an Airbus A350 in the world.

The diverted aircraft was an A350-1000, the larger of the two twin-engine A350s. It is powered by the XWB-97, the largest civil jet engine built by Rolls-Royce.

Cathay Pacific immediately inspected all of its Airbus A350 aircraft and grounded some of them for the next few days as a precautionary measure.

In response to the above information, an Airbus spokesperson forwarded questions to Cathay Pacific and Rolls Royce (engine manufacturer for the Airbus A350), and pledged to work closely together with the authorities to conduct an investigation.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it is monitoring the results of the investigation and will make a decision as necessary.

15 Airbus 350 aircraft discovered needing repair

As of the afternoon of September 3 (Vietnam time), Cathay Pacific discovered 15 planes needing to replace faulty parts, after inspecting all of its Airbus 350 planes.

In addition, the Hong Kong-based airline said that three planes have now been successfully repaired. All planes are expected to return to service from September 7.

Cathay Pacific also canceled 20 more flights from Hong Kong to Asian cities such as Kaohsiung, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing on September 4, bringing the total number of canceled flights to 68.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cathay-pacific-huy-68-chuyen-bay-vi-may-bay-airbus-a350-bi-loi-dong-co-20240903104133003.htm