New Caledonian flag carrier, Aircalin (formally known as Air Calédonie International) has grounded one of its two Airbus A330-900Neos after crews discovered an unpleasant smell in the cabin.
The Airbus A330-900Neo affected is registered F-ONET, and has been grounded for two weeks as of yet. The airline plans to ferry the aircraft to Airbus’ Toulouse facility to get it tested thoroughly by Airbus themselves.
The smell is reported to be of wet socks, prominent during take-off and landing. While tests in New Caledonia proved that the smell isn’t harmful and that air quality is up to standards, some passengers have reported dizziness, irritated eyes, vomiting and headaches. Despite the test results, the problem needs to be tested further, of course.
Following the tests in New Caledonia, engineers concluded that the problem could not be resolved properly. As a result, the plane will be flown to Airbus’ Toulouse facility.
It seems however, that Aircalin isn’t the only airline affected. In fact, Air Senegal and TAP Air Portugal have reported similar issues.
The Airbus A330-900Neo was put into service earlier last month. Schedules have not been affected, as Aircalin still has its older Airbus A330Ceo aircraft as backup as the new Neo fleet begins operations. The Airbus A330Ceo fleet is set to be retired shortly.
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