ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) will begin withdrawing its A320-200Ns and A321-200Ns from service in January 2024 for engine inspections following the recent Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine recall.

The airline issued a statement on October 31, 2023, addressing the issue and said as a result of the recall, approximately 30 flights per day will be reduced on domestic and international routes from January 10, 2024, through March 30, 2024. This equates to 3.6% of ANA's daily flights. ANA says the reduced flight schedules will target routes with alternate flights available on the same day, such as Tokyo Haneda - Osaka Itami, and Tokyo Haneda - Seoul Gimpo. The airline also says that StarFlyer (7G, Kitakyushu) and Solaseed Air (6J, Miyazaki) will operate additional flights over the period, codesharing with ANA, on some domestic routes subject to ANA's flight reductions. ANA has shareholdings in both airlines.

Between mid-January and the end of March, ANA will cut an average of 28 flights per day across 20 domestic routes. However, throughout February, the average number of daily domestic flight cancellations will rise to 32. The flight reductions impact only two international routes. The Tokyo Haneda - Qingdao Jiaodong city pair will see 58 flights cancelled over the period, while 87 flights on the Tokyo Haneda - Seoul Gimpo city pair will be cancelled between February 16 and March 30.

"The safety of our passengers and crews is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate measures as necessary," reads the ANA statement.

Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX), the parent entity of Pratt & Whitney, announced the engine recalls in late July after finding "a rare condition in powder metal used to manufacture certain engine parts." Pratt & Whitney used the powder metal in the high-pressure turbine discs in their PW1100Gs (better known as the GTF (geared turbofan) engines) manufactured between 2015 and 2020. The inspection for micro-cracks potentially pointing to fatigue is impacting airlines worldwide. The engine was a popular choice for buyers of A320N-family-type aircraft. ANA operates eleven A320-200Ns and twenty-two A321-200Ns among its broader fleet.

The airline says the operational impact of the engine recalls after March 31, 2024, will be clarified when it releases its FY2024 business plan at the end of January.