A380 wing cracks to take eight weeks per plane to fix

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 11 years ago

A380 wing cracks to take eight weeks per plane to fix

Repairing tiny cracks in the wings of Airbus' flagship A380 superjumbo will take eight weeks for each aircraft but the work does not have to be done in one go and is not urgent, the company said Monday.

The France-based plane-maker confirmed a weekend media report on the time needed to fix the fault, but insisted that there was "no necessity to immobilise the planes for eight weeks in a row".

A spokesman said that the repairs could be conducted during the "heavy checks" that are carried out on planes after two, four and six years of flight.

Loading

Aviation magazine FlightGlobal said at the weekend that the eight-week timeframe was equivalent to 30,000 hours of labour.

Airbus, the main subsidiary of aerospace giant EADS, has said the hairline cracks were found on some wing rib-skin attachments on a limited number of double-decker A380 aircraft.

It said they posed no safety threat and had not damaged the plane's popularity with travellers.

The European plane-maker is to begin building A380 wings without the defect using a new type of aluminium in 2013, which means aircraft delivered from 2014 onwards.

Airbus has said it will cover the cost of the repairs but will not pay any compensation for lost revenue during the work.

The A380, which entered service in 2007, is the world's biggest passenger jet and a key product in Airbus's line-up as it battles its main rival, US giant Boeing, for the top spot in the world civil airliner industry.

AFP

Sign up for the Traveller newsletter

The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading