Latest In A Series Of Technical Glitches Reported For Airbus' Flagship

An Emirates A380 preparing to depart from Incheon, South Korea on Sunday was delayed about 19 hours when mechanics discovered a "technical defect" in the aircraft's fuel system. Ground crews were not immediately able to correct the problem, which caused the overnight delay.

The international news service AFP reports that the 420 passengers were accommodated overnight in South Korea, and were able to depart the following day on another aircraft sent by Emirates airline. "Initial investigations on site could not resolve the issue and a team of engineers and spare parts were sent...later," Lee Sang-Jin, manager of Emirates Korea, said in a statement.

 
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The A380 has suffered from a rash of technical glitches. Air France's airplane has been grounded on multiple occasions for technical problems, and a Singapore Airlines A380 had to go back to Paris due to an electrical fault. A Qantas A380 en-route to Los Angeles was grounded in Melbourne, Australia last week because of a fuel gauge issue.

This is the first time an Emirates A380 has suffered this kind of problem. The airline operates seven of the super jumbos.

FMI: www.airbus.com