Swiss (LX, Zurich) has temporarily grounded the entire fleet of its A220s after one of the carrier's A220-300s, HB-JCC (msn 55012), experienced mid-flight engine problems on the morning of October 15 and had to divert to Paris CDG.
The carrier confirmed to aeroTELEGRAPH that all A220s are undergoing "comprehensive inspections" prior to returning to service. According to ch-aviation analysis of FlightRadar24 ADS-B data, flights with the A220 fleet have since resumed with two A220-100s and six A220-300s active again on the morning of October 16. The A220-100 and A220-300s are powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1524G and PW1524G-3 engines respectively.
"The current technical review of several aircraft leads to a noticeable restriction of our flight operations, as many flights have to be cancelled," Swiss said in a notice posted on its website on October 15, without going into detail.
The October 15 incident is reportedly the third in-flight shutdown of an engine on an A220 within the last three months.
With nine A220-100s and twenty -300s, Swiss is the world's largest operator of A220 Family jets. The aircraft form the backbone of its short- and medium-haul fleet, which also includes three A319-100s, nineteen A320-200s, six A321-100s, and three -200s. It also wet-leases ten E190s from Helvetic Airways.
airBaltic (BT, Riga), which is another major operator of the A220s with twenty -300s in its fleet, has not grounded its aircraft for inspections so far.
Editorial Comment: Article updated to reflect the partial resumption of operations of A220 operations. - 16Oct2019 - 05:56 UTC