Ryanair is carrying out emergency checks following potential safety fears concerning certain aircraft. The budget airline is one of many airlines around the world affected after cracks were found on a number of Boeing 737 NG jets. The fissures were found near the wing on several of the model forcing airlines to ground the planes. A Brazilian airline said it found evidence of “the need to replace a specific component.”
Southwest Airlines and Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aereas have taken at lest 13 Boeing 737 NG jets out of service after urgent checks were ordered by the US Federal Administration.
Ryanair has over 450 Boeing 737-800s, according to the Independent. The airline is now carrying out the inspections.
However, Ryanair had not confirmed how many of its planes required the checks.
“We are midway through the first part of this mandatory check program and don’t expect it will have any impact upon our fleet or operations,” a Ryanair spokeswoman told The Independent.
Express.co.uk has contacted Ryanair for further comment on the checks and affected aircraft.
The US Federal Administration is urging airlines to inspect older 737s.
Carriers have been instructed to starts checks with the planes that have made at least 30,000 flights.
Around 200 US aircraft are due to be checked within seven days after cracks were found on aircraft undergoing work in China.
Two Southwest planes have been taken out of service after 200 planes in the US carrier’s fleet were inspected. Repairs are now being carried out. Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air has also grounded two planes.
American Airlines and United Airlines said they have not noticed any cracks on their planes.
The FAA said inspections would look for “cracking of the left and right hand side outboard chords of frame fittings and failsafe straps,” reported The Sun.
It added that the cracking “could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane and result in loss of control of the airplane.”
Ryanair passengers can check if they are due to fly on a Boeing 737 NG (bearing in mind not all aircraft are affected).
Travellers can use a free tool by SeatGuru to identify the aircraft mode they will be flying with.
You’ll need to input the airline you’re flying with, the date you’re travelling on and the flight number if you know it. If you don’t you’ll need your departure airport and destination instead.
However, fliers should be aware that airlines sometimes changes the aircraft for operational reasons.
In further Ryanair news, earlier this month it emerged Ryanair passengers could be losing out on hundreds of pounds each in compensation if they have made a complaint.
According to consumer site, Which? this comes after Ryanair left official arbitration scheme Aviation ADR back in November 2018.