Why the mighty Airbus A380 is in trouble

The world's largest passenger airline, Airbus A380 is in trouble again five years after its maiden flight in 2005.

A380's first delivery itself was delayed by two years due to technical glitches and management issues.

Manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS, the mighty aircraft which can carry up to 800 passengers is facing a crisis.

Inputs from: ANI
Photographs: Courtesy, Airbus

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Airliners across the world have placed orders for 234 jumbo jets with a price tag of $350 million.

Questions have been raised on safety and design of the huge aircraft. There have been complaints of serious nature like engine failure and fuel tank leakage.

In September 2009, a Singapore Airlines A380 was forced to return to Paris after one of its four engines failed. In April 2010, a Qantas A380's tyres burst while landing at Sydney airport.

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The European Aviation Safety Agency had issued a warning in August on the Rolls-Royce engines used aboard the Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that forced it to make an emergency landing in Singapore.

The Qantas flight with 450 passengers has a miraculous escape as five pilots maneuvered the aircraft to an emergency landing.

Though none of the passengers were injured, the falling debris injured two people on the ground. People on an island near Singapore heard an explosion and found debris from the aircraft.

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One of the beams that connects the wing to the plane was damaged and the wing's two fuel tanks were punctured.

As a result of the fuel leakage, there was an imbalance between the left and right sides of the plane.

Thirty-seven A380s are currently operating across the world.

Qantas Airways on Tuesday said it will seek compensation from engine maker Rolls-Royce Group as it resumes flights of its A380 jetliner.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce said the company is recommending a series of checks on the Trent 900 engines.

Qantas, which had grounded all the A380 flights has now decided to resume some Airbus A380 flights from Saturday after checking the engines on its fleet of superjumbos.

According to news.com.au, the announcement has come three weeks after a mid-air engine explosion triggered serious safety concerns over the passenger jets.

The first A380 aircraft would arrive in Sydney on Wednesday from Los Angeles, while a second one is expected to take off from Los Angeles for Sydney later this week.

The airline expects to have four A380s in operation by Christmas, the report said.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce reportedly promised to be onboard the first flight, QF31, from Sydney to London via Singapore.

"We are completely comfortable with the operation of the aircraft. We're working with Airbus and Rolls-Royce on what it will take to get the (other) aircraft back in the air," Joyce said.

He further stated that the "check regime" that has been carried out would ensure that the planes are safe and also prevent the problems from occurring again, adding that the aircraft would not be used on the trans-Pacific Los Angeles route until the company was "100 per cent sure" the problems had been resolved.

Qantas would instead start by operating a single A380 on routes between Australia and the UK, he added.

Joyce has said that Rolls-Royce has apologised but when asked if the airline will seek compensation he said: "We will have that dialogue, but now is not the time.'

The Qantas plane is being investigated in Singapore by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.