Cathay Pacific issued the following statement on 4 September.
Cathay Pacific’s A350 fleet to fully resume operations by 7 September (4 September 2024)
Cathay Pacific advises that maintenance activity on its Airbus A350 fleet continues to progress well. Fifteen aircraft were identified with engine fuel lines that require replacement. Of these, six have already undergone successful repairs and are cleared to operate. The remaining nine aircraft will be repaired and are expected to resume operation by Saturday (7 September).
Further to flight cancellations announced so far, Cathay Pacific expects to cancel 11 additional regional return flights from 5 to 7 September. All affected customers have been informed and provided with alternative travel options on Cathay Pacific and other airlines as appropriate. The airline has increased its resources at its Customer Care centre and at the airport to better look after affected customers. Please refer to cathaypacific.com for the latest flight information.
Cathay Pacific does not anticipate any further cancellations will be required. In total, including those previously announced, the airline cancelled 45 return flights between 2 to 7 September. Apart from one long-haul flight on 2 September, all cancelled flights are for regional destinations. Cathay Pacific sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused and appreciates customers’ patience and understanding.
Chief Operations and Service Delivery Officer Alex McGowan said: “This was a significant situation for Cathay to manage as the engine component failure was the first of its type to occur on any A350 aircraft anywhere in the world.
“Completing thorough inspection and maintenance for all A350 aircraft within such a short timeframe has been challenging. The ability to safely deal with and resolve this issue reflects the can-do spirit of Cathay’s people. I would like to express my sincere thanks to our engineering and frontline teams, along with our partners, for their support and commitment to resolve the situation and minimise flight disruptions. I would also like to extend my apology to customers whose travel plans were affected by this incident. At Cathay, the safety of our customers and our people guides every decision we make.”
UPDATE: Progress on A350 Fleet Maintenance and Flight Disruption Updates (03 September 2024)
The following statement was issued by Cathay Pacific: “Cathay Pacific advises that the maintenance activity on our A350 fleet is progressing well. Our engineering team have thoroughly inspected our fleet of operational A350 aircraft within 24 hours. In total, we have identified 15 aircraft with affected engine components that require replacement and three have already gone through successful repairs. The remaining aircraft will continue to be out of service until they have been repaired and cleared for operation. We expect that all affected aircraft will resume operations by Saturday (7 September).
“For today (3 September), there will be no further cancellations beyond those already announced. All impacted customers have been informed and provided with alternative travel options.
“Looking ahead to tomorrow (4 September), we expect to cancel 10 additional return flights, while long-haul services should not be affected. Please refer to cathaypacific.com for the latest flight information.
“For the remaining cancellations up to Saturday (7 September), we will provide further details by 2:00pm tomorrow.
“Following the in-flight return on 2 September, Cathay Pacific identified an engine component failure in the A350 aircraft involved. We immediately brought this issue to the attention of the aircraft and engine manufacturers as well as our regulators. As a precautionary measure, a fleet-wide inspection of our A350 aircraft was initiated immediately.
“At Cathay, safety of our customers and our people guides every decision we make. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.”
Cathay Pacific has announced an immediate inspection of all 48 aircraft in its Airbus A350 fleet after discovering a critical component failure in one of its engines. Early Monday morning, flight CX383 bound for Zurich returned to Hong Kong International Airport following the activation of an engine warning light, which raised suspicions of a potential fire. The aircraft landed safely, and subsequent examinations revealed a fault in an engine component. This incident marks the first known instance of this type of failure for the A350, a principal long-range model from European manufacturer Airbus SE, powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce Holdings engines.
The airline said in a statement that: “Following the inflight return involving Cathay Pacific flight CX383 to Zurich earlier today, we identified an engine component failure in the A350 aircraft in question. Cathay Pacific has fully complied with all maintenance requirements of the engine manufacturer and stringent maintenance procedures are in place to ensure that our fleet is always operated safely. This component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide.
“We immediately brought this issue to the attention of the aircraft and engine manufacturers as well as our regulators. As a precautionary measure, we also proactively initiated a fleet-wide inspection of our 48 A350 aircraft. This thorough inspection process is well underway and will be completed today. Thus far we have identified a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced, spare parts have been secured and repair work is underway.
“As a result, a number of aircraft will be out of service for several days while this process is being completed and Cathay Pacific’s operating schedules will be affected. We are committed to minimising any disruption for our customers and will keep them informed with the latest updates, proactively providing alternative travel arrangements when necessary.”
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