Korean Air is planning a special safety audit of its entire fleet following two mishaps in two weeks involving the same A330 model. The airline will temporarily take the 24 A330s out of service in phases for an intensive inspection, the airline said. The airline also plans to retire its six old Airbus A330s from its fleet.
In the first incidence, an A330 overran the runway at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines on October 23, 2022. The aircraft was carrying 162 passengers and 11 crew members. Although there were no reported casualties, the plane's belly suffered significant damage. In another incident, an issue caused another A330 headed for Sydney to return to Incheon less than two hours after take-off.
"To address concerns and secure a safe operation system, we will carry out a full-scale, comprehensive safety inspection of our A330 fleet and seek an independent, external safety consultation,” the airline said.
Korea Air said it will introduce a total of 90 new aircraft, 10 Boeing 787-9, 20 Boeing 787-10, 30 Boeing 737-8, and 30 Airbus A321neo by 2028 while phasing out six Boeing 777-200ERs and six A330s.