- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
Cathay flights to resume fully by Saturday after A350 repairs
Cathay Pacific said it will resume full operations by Saturday after replacing defective engine fuel lines on its Airbus A350 planes, a problem that had forced it to cancel dozens of flights this week.
Hong Kong-based Cathay, one of the largest operators worldwide of the A350 jetliner, grounded 48 planes for checks on Monday after a Zurich-bound flight had to return to the city shortly after take-off.
The inspection found that components on 15 of the A350s -- whose engines are powered by British manufacturer Rolls-Royce -- had to be replaced.
"Fifteen aircraft were identified with engine fuel lines that require replacement. Of these, six have already undergone successful repairs and are cleared to operate," it said in a statement.
"The remaining nine aircraft will be repaired and are expected to resume operation by Saturday."
When Cathay had initially raised the alarm Monday, it said "the component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide".
The incident prompted other airlines in the region to carry out similar checks on their A350-900 and A350-1000 models.
Cathay so far have cancelled 90 flights between Monday to Saturday, with mainly regional routes including connections to Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, and Bangkok hit.
Aboard a Cathay A350-900 plane to San Francisco on Wednesday, a Hong Kong passenger surnamed Yuen told AFP that he was "worried but I don't know who I can ask whether this aircraft has been checked".
"I thought it would be cancelled but it wasn't," Yuen texted from the runway.
"I would feel better if Cathay could send us a message saying the plane has been checked but they never did that."
Japan Airlines confirmed that three of their A350 jets turned up no issues, while two more were undergoing inspections Wednesday.
A Thai Airways spokesperson said on Wednesday no problems were found after they inspected their 23-plane fleet of A350s, and the airline was using their planes as normal.
Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday that they were also carrying out checks but that there was "no impact" on flights operating with their A350-900 fleet.
- Long-haul flights -
Airbus and Rolls-Royce have so far declined to provide details, saying an ongoing investigation prevents them from commenting further.
Terence Fan, an aviation expert at Singapore Management University, said the Airbus 350 planes had an "airworthiness directive" issued on them by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency this year.
"A350 is often deployed in long-haul flights, many of which traverse oceans or sparsely populated areas with few airports for the affected aircraft to immediately divert to if both engines lose power as a result of reduced fuel intake," he said.
"Clearly, the impairment was not to this extent at this point, but certainly sufficient to abort that flight to Zurich."
Last November, Emirates chief executive Tim Clark expressed concerns about the durability and longevity of A350 engines.
Rolls-Royce has defended its Trent XWB-97 engines and said it was taking steps to improve their durability.
P.Sousa--PC