Singapore Airlines is delaying all flights by its fleet of Airbus A380s following the engine failure on a Qantas A380 which led to an emergency landing at Singapore airport today.
Qantas grounded its six A380s after one of the four engines on an aircraft bound for Sydney from Singapore reportedly “exploded with a loud bang” soon after takeoff. All 459 passengers and crew landed safely.
A Singapore Airlines spokesman said the delays were to conduct technical checks following advice from Airbus and engine manufacturer Rolls Royce. The carrier will be updating passengers, but he could not say how long the delays might last.
Singapore Airlines uses 480-seat A380s on two of its three daily services between London and Singapore, with departures from Heathrow at 10:55 and 22:05. Inbound services are due to arrive at 19:10 and 05:55.
The carrier was the first to fly the A380 commercially, carrying more than one million passengers aboard the aircraft by January 2009. No UK carrier yet flies the A380. The only other airlines operating the aircraft are Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa.