Airline passenger news and views

Australian aircraft engineers have called for Airbus A380 - the world's biggest passenger aircraft - to be grounded, after Singapore Airlines and Qantas found cracks in the wings of their super-jumbos.

'We can't continue to gamble with people's lives and allow those aircraft to fly around and hope that they make it until their four-yearly inspection,' said Steve Purvinas, secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association.

Both airlines, and Airbus, admitted that they had discovered cracks, but maintained that the aircraft were safe. In total, 67 Airbus A380s are in use worldwide, on seven airlines. The aircraft are in use by Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Air France, Lufthansa, Korean Airlines and China Southern.

'We confirm that cracks were found on non-critical wing attachments on a limited number of A380s,' an Airbus spokesperson said today.

'We've traced the origin of these hairline cracks, and developed an inspection and repair procedure which can be done during routine maintenance.'

The A380 has been in service for five years. It seats 525 passengers in a typical three-class arrangement. In total, 238 of the aircraft have been ordered by 17 airlines worldwide.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Qantas Airways said on Friday they discovered cracks on the wing ribs of their Airbus A380s, but said the cracks pose no threat to safety and repairs have been carried out.    

The remarks came after Airbus said on Thursday that engineers discovered minor cracks in the wings of a 'limited number' of A380s, but said the cracks were not affecting the safety of the aircraft. 

Qantas separately said that 'minuscule cracking' was found in the wing ribs of the Qantas A380 being repaired in Singapore after one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines suffered a mid-air blowout in 2010. 

A Lufthansa spokesman said: 'There is no findings on our side and we have normal operations.'

Airbus said it has traced the origin of the problem and developed an inspection and repair procedure that will be done during routine, scheduled four-year maintenance checks.