Airbus A380
Airbus to check for cracks on Emirates, Qantas A380 wings. Credit: Maarten Visser from Capelle aan den IJssel, Nederland.

Airbus is set to inspect the wings of its A380 superjumbo aircraft after some micro-fissures were identified on a number of planes.

The news comes after European regulators ordered inspections on the aeroplanes after detecting cracks in the wings on the passenger aircraft.

According to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive, airlines must use ultrasonic testing methods and should stay alert on fixing the issue if they come across any repairs, reported Bloomberg.

Formalising an instruction from the manufacturer itself, the directive covers a portion of the outer wing on the 25 oldest aircraft, including planes at Emirates, Australia’s Qantas Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Airbus said that the safety of the aircraft was not affected, reported Reuters.

A380s operated by Deutsche Lufthansa, Air France and charter carrier Hi Fly are also listed in the first batch requiring wing checks.

An Airbus spokesman was quoted by the news agency as saying: “We confirm that small cracks have been found on the outer rear wing spars of early production A380 aircraft. We have identified the issue and designed an inspection and repair scheme.”

The repairs need to be carried out within 15 years of the initial wing box assembly. They can be conducted during scheduled heavy maintenance visits, the spokesman added.

In February, Airbus announced plans to cease production of the airliner A380, after Emirates decided to reduce its total order of the model by 39 aircraft.

Emirates’ decision to reduce its A380 order book from 162 to 123 aircraft comes after a review of its operations and developments in aircraft and engine technologies.