Around half of all Rolls-Royce engines on Airbus A380s across the world will need replacing as a safety measure after one failed on a Qantas aircraft.
The Australian carrier’s chief executive Alan Joyce said: “We’ve been talking to Airbus and Rolls-Royce and we understand that the number [of engines to be replaced] is around 40. We’ve already replaced three and there could be more.”
He declined to confirm Australian media reports that the carrier’s six A380s were likely to remain grounded until at least early December.
But he confirmed Qantas wanted Airbus to replace some Rolls-Royce engines with new power plants from aircraft in production on the Airbus assembly line.
A Qantas A380 with 466 people on board made an emergency landing in Singapore after one of the Rolls-Royce Trent engines broke apart after an oil fire. The airline’s six A380s have been grounded since the incident tow weeks ago.
Singapore Airlines, which has 11 Rolls-Royce-powered A380s, has also been forced to cancel several flights in order to change some engines.
Qantas, SIA and Lufthansa are the only carriers with Rolls-Royce engine-powered A380s in their fleets. There are 21 A380s powered by Trent 900s, with four on each aircraft.
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