Cathay Pacific inspects entire A350 fleet after finding engine problems

Hong Kong CNN —

Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific has canceled dozens of flights as it conducts an inspection of its entire Airbus A350 fleet after finding engine problems affecting the plane.

The airline, one of the world’s largest users of the long-haul jet, said it identified an engine component failure on flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich on Monday. The plane later returned to Hong Kong.

“This component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide,” Cathay said in a statement sent to CNN. A thorough inspection of its 48-plane fleet revealed “a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced,” it added. It did not detail the nature of the engine issue.

By Tuesday afternoon, the company said it had identified 15 aircraft with affected engine parts that require replacement. Three had been fixed, it said, adding that all affected aircraft will resume operations by Saturday.

Cathay had earlier canceled 24 flights operating over Monday and Tuesday amid inspection and repair work. The carrier is expected to cancel 10 regional return flights on Wednesday, but long-haul services should not be affected, it said.

According to Reuters, citing an unnamed source, the incident involved a problem with a fuel nozzle, a component that directs fuel inside the engine. CNN has reached out to Cathay for additional comment.

The issue affecting the A350 has emerged after rival Boeing (BA) suffered a number of serious and high-profile problems. The American plane maker has spent months embroiled in a safety crisis since the mid-air blowout of one of its door plugs on a 737 Max flight operated by Alaska Airlines earlier this year.

Cathay said it had contacted the aircraft