The European Union’s aviation regulator has ordered emergency inspections of 16 Airbus A380 superjumbos after cracks were found in a key structural part of the wing on jets operated by Emirates and Qantas.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued the airworthiness directive on June 22, requiring carriers to examine the wing mid-spar, an internal beam that helps absorb the stresses of flight. It took effect on June 24.
Of the affected aircraft, 15 are flown by Dubai-based Emirates and one by Australia’s Qantas. Five Emirates jets have been grounded and must be checked before they next carry passengers, though limited empty ferry flights are allowed to move them to maintenance bases.
The remaining 11 planes, including the Qantas aircraft, can keep flying but must be inspected within 25 flight cycles, each cycle covering a take-off, flight and landing.
EASA said the cracks, found on early-production aircraft during earlier checks, “could reduce the structural integrity of the wing”. The Toulouse-based manufacturer said it would discuss with the regulator whether repairs were needed and would carry out the immediate inspections on the five grounded jets.
Qantas said its affected aircraft, registered VH-OQI, was already undergoing heavy maintenance in Dresden, eastern Germany, and that the directive would not disrupt its schedule.
The regulator has not grounded the wider A380 fleet and said there was no sign of an immediate risk across all aircraft. Emergency directives are rare and are usually reserved for problems that could threaten airworthiness if left unchecked.
It is not the first time the A380 has faced wing trouble. In 2012 EASA ordered fleet-wide checks after cracks were found in brackets linking the wing skin to internal ribs, leading to a costly repair programme that Airbus later addressed through design changes.
The latest order adds to mounting regulatory scrutiny in Europe, with EASA also tightening maintenance rules for some A330 jets and overseeing updates to the A320 family.
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury complained this month that the cost of regulatory barriers in Europe was “absolutely horrible”, arguing that high labour and energy costs were eroding the continent’s competitiveness against the United States and China.
The A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, ceased production after Airbus ended the programme, with 251 delivered. Emirates operates the biggest fleet, flying more than half of all active superjumbos.
