Singapore Airlines suspends A380 flights

SINGAPORE Airlines this morning cancelled the departure of one of its A380 flights from London, telling pax that engine maker Rolls Royce had placed an “embargo” on A380 aircraft using its Trent 900 engines, as exclusively revealed to the world in TD’s breaking news.

Several reports say the crew refused to fly the superjumbo flagship after oil was found in one of the turbines – a symptom which is believed to have led to the explosion of the QF engine.

It’s understood that SIA A380s are also currently grounded in Sydney and Melbourne, although the carrier hasn’t responded to requests for comment before TD’s deadline today.

Engine maker Rolls Royce yesterday issued a special service bulletin after saying it had “made progress in understanding the cause of the engine failure” on QF32 out of SIN five days ago.

Rolls Royce Trent 900 engine (www.leemawdsley.co.uk)

“As a result, a series of checks and inspections have been agreed with Airbus, with operators of the Trent 900 powered A380 and with the airworthiness authorities,” Rolls Royce said in a statement.

“These are being progressively completed which is allowing a resumption of operation of aircraft in full compliance with all safety standards”.

The Qantas A380 fleet remains grounded and isn’t expected to resume service until Fri at the earliest, with further details emerging from QF32 incl damage to wiring and hydraulic systems.

Earlier this week SQ said it was continuing to operate its A380s after inspections found no problems with the fleet.