Airbus says cracks in the wing spars of some of Emirates' older A380-800s are not a safety issue, and the ongoing safe operation of the A380 is not compromised. It is a "fleet returning to service after storage" issue - 50% of the A380 fleet is now back into service. When a younger A380 was dismantled earlier this year, Airbus discovered a higher number of cracks outside the usual areas. Airbus says wing inspections take about one week. According to Aviation Week, Qantas currently operates the only three revenue service aircraft older than 12.5 years.

Source: Ethiopian News December 23, 2022 19:18 UTC