Air Austral (UU, St. Denis de la Réunion) has been forced to ground a second A220-300 indefinitely due to ongoing Pratt & Whitney engine problems and has adjusted its July flight schedules on regional routes, using its last functioning A220-300 and long-haul aircraft, the airline announced. The operational challenges come at a particularly inopportune time - the start of the European summer holiday season.

F-OLAV (msn 55106) last flew on July 3, serving the regional network between St. Denis de la Réunion and St. Pierre de la Réunion and Mauritius, Dzaoudzi, Nosy-Be and Antananarivo, ADS-B data reveals. F-OTER (msn 55125) has been parked since November 2023. This leaves one remaining A220-300, F-OMER (msn 55116), in service.

In a statement, the airline said it had devised a regional schedule using its single A220 and its long-haul fleet. It operates three B777-300ERs and two B787-8s. It said cooperation from air navigation services, particularly at Dzaoudzi (Mayotte), had been crucial in extending airport hours to support these operations effectively.

Schedule adjustments include maintaining twice-daily flights between Réunion and Mayotte, using its long-haul fleet as necessary, consolidating certain Réunion-Mauritius flights onto widebody aircraft and rescheduling Friday-night flights to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo for Saturday evenings.

Réunion-Paris CDG and Mayotte-Paris flight schedules remain unchanged.

ch-aviation has reached out to Air Austral for comment.