Swiss International Air Lines AG (Swiss), part of the Lufthansa group of companies and based near Basel, Switzerland, has announced that it has been forced to ground its fleet of 29 Airbus 220 jets in order to make engine checks after a technical problem was encountered by one of its jets on a London to Geneva flight which was redirected to Paris.
According to RTS, the Swiss public television company, eight technical problems with the A220 have been reported within a year. “Only after a faultless inspection will the aircraft return to regular flight operations,” Swiss said. This would lead to a noticeable reduction in Swiss flight operations, as numerous flights would have to be cancelled, it added.
“Swiss takes these incidents very seriously and is in close contact with the responsible authorities, Airbus Canada and the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney,” it continued. “The safety of our customers and crews is our top priority. We will do everything in our power to return our [A220] fleet to normal flight operations as quickly as possible and to continue to ensure safe flight operations.”
Pratt & Whitney confirmed that it has recommended additional checks on engines which power the Airbus A220 and also a number of Embraer E2 passenger jets. “Pratt & Whitney and our airframe OEMs (manufacturers), working in coordination with the regulatory authorities, have recommended additional inspections of the low-pressure compressor for PW1500G and PW1900G engines to keep the fleet operational,” a spokesman said. “The engines continue to meet all criteria for continued airworthiness.” All 29 A220 jets were supplied by Bombardier, the Canadian plane maker which sold a 50.01% stake in the CSeries to Airbus in July 2018 with the aircraft series then renamed the Airbus A220.