UAE's Etihad finds 'no issues' with engines of A350 fleet: statement

UAE carrier Etihad Airways said it found no issues with the engines of its Airbus A350 fleet following inspections prompted by an engine fire on one of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific's flights.

The Cathay incident prompted the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to issue an emergency directive to airlines ordering mandated inspections on all A350-1000s, which are powered by Trent XWB-97 engines made by Rolls-Royce.

Etihad Airways, which operates five of the Airbus A350-1000s, is the only airline in the United Arab Emirates that has this aircraft type in service.

"Etihad Airways initiated inspections of its Rolls Royce engines across its A350 fleet proactively over the last 72 hours, and continues to do so in compliance with the EASA," the airline said in a statement on Friday.

"Etihad has discovered no issues, nor experienced any similar events with the engine, so does not anticipate any impact on its operations," it added.

Cathay, one of the largest operators of the long-haul A350 jetliner, grounded 48 planes for checks on Monday after a Zurich-bound flight had to return to Hong Kong shortly after take-off.

EASA said on Thursday that the aircraft suffered an engine failure due to a high-pressure fuel hose failing.

The agency said there was an "in-flight engine fire shortly after take-off", which was "promptly detected and extinguished".

Rolls-Royce said on Thursday it was launching "a one-time precautionary engine inspection programme" which may apply "to a portion of the A350 fleet".

The first A350 was delivered to Qatar Airways at the end of 2014.

A total of 87 A350-1000 aircraft are currently in service worldwide.