New York-bound flight canceled after passenger sees parts missing from wing
Virgin Atlantic said safety of customers, crew 'was not compromised at any point'
Virgin Atlantic CEO says 2024 demand is hard to predict
Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss offers a prediction into travel demand for 2024.
Virgin Atlantic canceled a New York-bound flight to conduct additional maintenance checks after a passenger spotted parts missing from the aircraft’s wing.
The U.K.-based carrier initiated the checks last week after a passenger told the flight crew about several absent bolt fastener tops, according to the Manchester Evening News, which first reported the flight’s cancellation.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told FOX Business that the airline canceled the flight "to provide time for precautionary additional engineering checks, which allowed our team the maximum time to complete their inspections." The plane, an Airbus A330, was scheduled to fly from Manchester, England, to New York City.
Missing wing parts on a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 aircraft. (Kennedy News and Media)
The team that conducted the inspections found the tops of four out of the 119 fasteners on the wing panel were missing, according to Virgin Atlantic. Workers eventually installed new fasteners as replacements.
RICHARD BRANSON ON VIRGIN ATLANTIC'S SUSTAINABLE FUEL FLIGHT: ‘IT CAN BE DONE’
"The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and this was not compromised at any point," Virgin Atlantic told FOX Business. "We always work well above industry safety standards and the aircraft is now back in service."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
An employee works on a wing of a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 aircraft. (Kennedy News and Media)
VIRGIN ATLANTIC CEO SAYS LEISURE TRAVEL REMAINS ROBUST, EXPECTS TO RETURN TO PROFITABILITY IN 2024
"The panel in the image is a secondary structure panel, used to improve the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft," Neil Firth, an Airbus local chief wing engineer for the A330, said in a statement. "Each of these panels has 119 fasteners so there was no impact to the structural integrity or load capability of the wing, and the aircraft was safe to operate."