Emirates Airline has confirmed that it has suspended its A380 operation to Johannesburg until the end of April. 

This follows the updated airworthiness directive issued on February 8 by Airbus and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) after concerns were raised about the possible existence of new small cracks on the wing ribs of the A380. 

EASA stipulated that all A380 aircraft have to be checked before they reach 1 300 flight cycles. The airline has also re-assigned A380 operations for London Heathrow, Rome and Seoul Incheon services.

“Emirates is performing the necessary inspections of all of its A380 fleet, which has necessitated a number of aircraft substitutions. Emirates regrets any disappointment this may cause our passengers. Every effort is being made to expedite the process. The aircraft remain fully airworthy and pose no risk to flight safety as affirmed by EASA and Airbus,” said the airline. 

The Johannesburg morning A380 flight (EK761/762) will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER.

Meanwhile, Air France has replaced the A380 on its Johannesburg-Paris route with a B777 on the following dates: March 12, 14, 16, 21, and 23. This is subject to change.
Following this inspection, if repairs were necessary, their duration would depend on the type of work requested by the manufacturer, the airline said.

Of Lufthansa’s eight A380s, the oldest was delivered on May 19 and has performed 900 flight cycles so far, therefore the airline does not expect any disruptions to its A380 services. 

“Lufthansa performs regular checks on its aircraft and will continue to do so within the check cycles. For this reason we do not anticipate any cancellation of our A380 flights or any equipment changes as routine maintenance checks are performed regularly and calculated into the airline’s operational schedule,” said Axel Simon, Director for Southern Africa of Lufthansa and SWISS International Air Lines.