SAS Scandinavian Airlines Grounds 18 A320neos For Inspection Disrupting Flights

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Summary

  • SAS is grounding 18 A320neos for inspections of pressure regulator transmitter, a routine safety check to comply with regulations.
  • Flights have been cut due to the groundings, affecting approximately 7% of the airline’s schedule on Saturday.
  • SAS working to minimize disruptions and notify affected passengers promptly.

SAS has announced it is grounding multiple A320neos due to “the need to inspect a component” – 18 of the airline’s aircraft will be removed from service to allow inspections of their pressure regulator transmitter.

Component inspections ground SAS A320neos

The Scandinavian carrier will ground over a quarter of its Airbus A320neo fleet, with 18 of its 67 A320neos set to be inspected. As confirmed by an SAS spokesperson, the issue involves the aircraft’s pressure regulator transmitter, a component responsible for monitoring and adjusting cabin pressure mid-flight.

Flypix Scandinavian airlines (SAS) A320NEO coming in to land in with snowy trees in foreground (1)

Photo: Flypix | Shutterstock

So what exactly is the problem? The inspections do not suggest a fleet-wide fault with the component, and are instead about complying with regulations. A spokesperson told Simple Flying the situation “was triggered by a routine check which had not been completed within the designated timeline.” At this stage, it isn’t clear exactly why these checks were not completed within designated timeframes, but the carrier was keen to stress that passengers were not “exposed to any risk at any time.

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Keeping the aircraft maintained and airworthy is the operator’s primary responsibility.

Although the airline has not provided a timeline for the return to service of affected narrowbodies, these inspections likely won’t take long at all unless a problem is found with the component.

Flight cuts

As a result of the groundings, SAS was forced to cut several flights on Saturday. Flight tracking site FlightAware shows that SAS has canceled 24 flights on Saturday, accounting for approximately 7% of its schedule, with a similar number of flights also delayed. Of these 24 scrapped flights, 22 were due to be operated by the A320neo, with the airline’s Oslo (OSL) hub the most affected.

SAS said,

“The need to inspect a pressure regulator transmitter component on some of our aircraft unfortunately means pausing operation with these aircraft, in turn causing traffic disruptions in parts of our network.”

The carrier adds that it is “working hard to minimize disruption” and will notify affected passengers via email or SMS. FlightAware reveals that no SAS flights have been canceled for tomorrow (Sunday) yet.

SAS and the A320neo

SAS took delivery of its first A320neo in October 2016 and now operates 67 of the next-generation narrowbodies alongside a dozen older A320ceos and three A321neos. The carrier has configured its A320neos with all-economy seating, which can accommodate up to 180 passengers.

SAS Airbus A320neo

Photo: Flypix | Shutterstock

One of its A320neos was involved in a hard landing incident in Funchal in January. The plane suffered a compressor stall after encountering wind shear upon approach to the airport, made a hard landing and then initiated a go-around before diverting to nearby Gran Canaria.

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The airline still awaits other approvals before it can exit bankruptcy.

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