HONG KONG — Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways cancelled another 22 flights from Sept 5 to Sept 7 as it conducts checks on the engines of its Airbus A350 fleet, but the carrier assured that it would fully resume operations by Sept 7.
The cancellations include four flights between Singapore and Hong Kong.
The affected flights are:
"All affected customers have been informed and provided with alternative travel options on Cathay Pacific and other airlines as appropriate," Cathay Pacific said in a statement.
This comes as the carrier found 15 Airbus A350 planes that needed fuel line repairs following the in-flight failure of an engine part this week.
The inspections and repairs to the Rolls-Royce engines that power its fleet of 48 A350 widebody jets led the carrier to cancel 45 return flights on mostly regional Asian routes this week, it said in its latest update.
Cathay Pacific said six of the 15 aircraft needing engine fuel lines replaced had been repaired and were cleared to operate.
The remaining nine were expected to be fixed and returned to operation by Sept 7.
The latest cancellations bring the total number of cancelled flights this week to 90. The airline cancelled 48 flights on Sept 3 and 20 on Sept 4.
A person familiar with the matter said a leak in a fuel system appeared to have caused a brief engine fire that was quickly extinguished by the crew of a Zurich-bound A350-1000 plane on Sept 2, which returned to Hong Kong just over an hour after take-off.
There were no immediate signs that the incident would trigger significant regulatory action involving the A350 fleet, the person added.
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