HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific is providing travellers and the trade with next steps after the airline was forced to ground more than a dozen aircraft due to engine concerns.

“Following the in-flight return on 2 September, Cathay Pacific identified an engine component failure in the A350 aircraft involved. We immediately brought this issue to the attention of the aircraft and engine manufacturers as well as our regulators. As a precautionary measure, a fleet-wide inspection of our A350 aircraft was initiated immediately,” said Cathay Pacific in a statement on its site, posted at 2:30 p.m. HKT (2:30 a.m. EDT).

Cathay Pacific said its maintenance activity on its A350 fleet “is progressing well”.

“Our engineering team have thoroughly inspected our fleet of operational A350 aircraft within 24 hours,” added the carrier.

“In total, we have identified 15 aircraft with affected engine components that require replacement and three have already gone through successful repairs. The remaining aircraft will continue to be out of service until they have been repaired and cleared for operation.”

The airline said it expects that all affected aircraft will resume operations by this Saturday (Sept. 7).

Cancellations started yesterday, Sept. 2. The airline posted a list of cancelled flights on its site. “For today (3 September), there will be no further cancellations beyond those already announced. All impacted customers have been informed and provided with alternative travel options,” said Cathay Pacific. “Looking ahead to tomorrow (4 September), we expect to cancel 10 additional regional return flights, while long-haul services should not be affected. Please refer cathaypacific.com for the latest flight information.”

Information about the remaining cancellations up to Saturday (7 September) will be posted by 2 p.m. HKT (2 a.m. EDT) tomorrow, Sept. 4.

The airline added: “At Cathay, safety of our customers and our people guides every decision we make. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused and appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.

Cathay Pacific is waiving ticket change fees to allow travellers to rearrange their plans. More details can be found here.