Japan's largest airline ANA says it will replace the engines on its fleet of 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners after experiencing a series of engine failures caused by corrosion and fatigue cracking of turbine blades.
The company plans to swap out all 100 Rolls-Royce engines currently used on its fleet of Dreamliners, CNN reported.
The process could take as long as three years, the report quoted ANA spokesman Yoichi Uchida as saying.
ANA said the engine faults have already led to two cases where an aircraft was forced to return to its departure airport -- Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi. Similar issues affected a third flight in August.
Some of the cracks are the result of corrosion caused by chemicals in the atmosphere. ANA said the problem gets worse as an aircraft completes more flights.
The airline has already been forced to cancel 18 flights because of the problem, and more could be affected later this month.
For now, the engines will be upgraded with brand new turbine blades. Meanwhile, ANA said it is working with Rolls- Royce to find a more permanent solution. Five engines have already been repaired with new turbines.
"We are working very closely with ANA to minimise the impact on their airline operation," Rolls-Royce (RYCEY) said in a statement.
In 2013, Boeing's global fleet of Dreamliners was taken out of service after US regulators said they were not safe to fly until a fire risk linked to the aircraft's batteries had been resolved.
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