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Harvey Kong

Oscar Liu

Cathay Pacific Airways passengers were left scrambling to find alternative travel arrangements earlier this week after a faulty engine component prompted Hong Kong’s flag carrier to ground its entire fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft.
The Post shares the latest developments and how the technical fault has affected the airline’s operations.
1. Why was Cathay’s A350 fleet grounded?
Cathay Pacific grounded all of its Airbus A350 planes after an engine component failure was discovered on an aircraft flying the CX383 route to Zurich, forcing it to return to Hong Kong on Monday morning.
The plane involved was an A350-1000 model.
The company said it had uncovered “a number of the same engine components that needed to be replaced” after grounding the fleet for inspection.
But the carrier did not specify which component was faulty and only said it was the “first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide”.
The Trent XWB-97 engines used in the Airbus A350-1000 jets are made by UK-based manufacturer Rolls-Royce.
2. How many planes are affected?
A day later, Cathay said it had thoroughly inspected its 48 operational A350 aircraft within 24 hours and identified 15 affected aircraft that needed replacement components.
Three airliners had already been repaired as of 2.30pm on the same day, it added.
“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,” the carrier said.

3. What has been the operational impact?
Cathay has so far cancelled 68 flights – or 34 return ones.
The airline said it would share more about details on Wednesday about other cancelled flights originally scheduled for the rest of the week.
“All impacted customers have been informed and provided with alternative travel options,” it said.
A check by the Post on Tuesday afternoon found that at least 10 flights scheduled for the next day had been cancelled. They included planes to Kaohsiung, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul and the mainland Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
Cathay’s check-in counters at Hong Kong airport appeared to be running smoothly on Tuesday, barely 12 hours after the airline announced the previous round of flight cancellations.
But passengers told the Post they were informed of the cancellations on Monday evening, leaving many scrambling to make last-minute travel arrangements.
Some of those supposed to travel to Singapore via Cathay said they were able to book seats with the city state’s flag carrier instead.
4. What about other A350 aircraft?
According to data from Airbus as of July, the manufacturer had 1,327 orders for the A350 series, with 613 aircraft delivered and 612 of them in operation.
Cathay currently has 48 of the widebody airliners and has six cargo aircraft on order for delivery from 2027.
In terms of Asia-Pacific, Singapore Airlines has the largest fleet of operational Airbus A350 aircraft at 64, followed by the 30 used by Air China and the 20-strong contingents each operated by China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
Sichuan Airlines operates a fleet of eight such planes.
Over in the Middle East, Qatar Airways has 58 A350 aircraft.
Air France accounts for the largest A350 fleet in Europe with 34 planes, while Delta Air Lines boasts the greatest number in North America at 32.
5. Is Cathay the only one having trouble?
Other carriers operating A350 aircraft have not reported any issues so far.
Qatar Airways on Tuesday said Cathay’s discovery had not affected any of its A350-1000s but it would monitor the situation for any further developments.
Air France said Airbus and Rolls-Royce had not advised or mandated airlines to perform any checks at this stage.

6. How are manufacturers reacting?
An Airbus spokesman said on Tuesday that the company was working closely with Rolls-Royce and Cathay, but stopped short of offering further details amid the investigation.
Rolls-Royce also said in a statement that an investigation had been launched by the relevant authorities in Hong Kong under the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which restricted the company from commenting.
“As well as providing support and guidance to Cathay Pacific, Rolls-Royce will also keep other airlines that operate Trent XWB-97 engines fully informed of any relevant developments as appropriate,” the manufacturer said.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it was in contact with Airbus and Rolls-Royce and would monitor the technical investigation and make decisions on any fleet-level action as required.
Chinese media outlet Yicai quoted sources who said the Civil Aviation Administration of China had initiated its own investigation to determine whether any A350 aircraft operated by mainland airlines needed to be checked.


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What’s next for Cathay after engine fault grounds Hong Kong carrier’s Airbus A350 fleet?

Cathay Pacific has inspected its 48 operational A350 aircraft and identified 15 affected planes. Photo: Roy Issa

Cathay has so far cancelled 68 flights – or 34 return ones – as a result of the incident. Photo: Sam Tsang

An Airbus A350-1000 aircraft takes part in a flying display in the UK. Photo: AFP

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A Cathay Pacific A350-900 on the tarmac of Hong Kong International Airport. All 48 planes of the carrier’s A350 fleet have been grounded. Photo: Roy Issa

Passengers complain about poor service after Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific cancels 48 flights

Cathay Pacific has said it will cancel 48 flights. Photo: Sam Tsang

Cathay Pacific’s check-in counters at the airport operated as usual on Tuesday morning. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong’s Cathay grounds A350 fleet due to engine component failure, axes 48 flights

The airline says it has cancelled 48 flights operating up until the end of Tuesday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

One of Cathay’s A350-900 aircraft. In May 2022, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an airworthiness directive for the Airbus A350-900 and 1000 aircraft. Photo: Reuters 

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City’s flag carrier grounded all of its Airbus A350 planes after engine component failure discovered on aircraft bound for Zurich


City’s flag carrier grounded all of its Airbus A350 planes after engine component failure discovered on aircraft bound for Zurich.


Hong Kong aviation

Aviation

Hong Kong International Airport

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Airbus A350

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Explainer | What’s next for Cathay after engine fault grounds Hong Kong carrier’s Airbus A350 fleet?

City’s flag carrier grounded all of its Airbus A350 planes after engine component failure discovered on aircraft bound for Zurich

1. Why was Cathay’s A350 fleet grounded?