US safety chiefs ground Boeing Dreamliner
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered US airlines to stop flying Boeing 787s until a fault with the aircraft’s battery, which promoted an emergency landing in Japan earlier this week, has been resolved.
United Airlines, the only US airline currently operating Dreamliners, said it would immediately comply with the FAA’s directive and would begin re-accommodating customers on alternative aircraft
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways had already grounded their Dreamliners following the safety incident on Wednesday, which was the latest in a series of technical glitches suffered by the aircraft.
The FAA had already announced it was investigating the safety of the 787 following incidents including an electrical fire, fuel spillage and brake problems on the Dreamliner.
Qatar Airways, which is the only airline offering 787 flights out of the UK, cancelled its service from London yesterday.
No UK carrier operates the aircraft yet, but both Thomson Airways and British Airways are due to take delivery of 787s this spring. Both said they remained confident the aircraft would be delivered on time.
A spokeswoman for Thomson said yesterday: "Boeing has reassured us that they are reviewing all the issues highlighted to them and they are taking action to rectify them as quickly as possible. At this current time we have been told by Boeing that this won’t affect our delivery dates"
BA said: "We remain committed to taking delivery of our first Boeing 787 later this year.
"We are confident that any safety concerns will be fully addressed by Boeing and the FAA as part of their recently announced review into the aircraft."
LAN Chile and Air India have grounded their 787s this week and Lot Airlines of Poland cancelled a flight on the Dreamliner.
In recent weeks Dreamliners have suffered incidents including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire. However, it is the battery problems that have caused the most concern.
On Wednesday, an All Nippon Airways flight made an emergency landing because of a battery malfunction. That caused them to ground all 17 of their Dreamliners and Japan Airways followed suit.
The FAA said that airlines must demonstrate battery safety before flights can resume.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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