An Airbus A330neo aircraft takes off from the Airbus delivery center in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, March 20, 2019. Photo by Reuters
Malaysia Airlines has grounded its new Airbus A330neo days after its maiden flight due to technical issues which are being resolved by the manufacturers.
The national carrier has identified three technical problems with the plane concerning factory production and delivery.
“Malaysia Airlines has suffered a series of technical issues arising from poor quality work from the factory and this has impacted Malaysia Airlines’ inaugural flight,” chief executive officer Izham Ismail told the Business Times.
“We need Airbus and Rolls-Royce to investigate the root cause of these issues on the brand-new aircraft,” Izham was quoted as saying, referring to the manufacturers of the aircraft and its engine.
“This happening to a brand-new aircraft is not acceptable. To me, it’s embarrassing.”
Technical issues had already been reported during the plane’s inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne on Dec. 19.
A Rolls-Royce spokesperson said that it has identified a faulty electrical component and is the progress of replacing the part.
Airbus said it is ready to support Malaysia Airlines with the technical issues with the aircraft.
The A330neo is the first of the 20 aircraft that Malaysia Airlines ordered in 2022.
The aircraft, often compared to the Boeing 787, has a capacity of between 257 and 287 passengers.
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