Airbus is to reinforce the door seals on up to 13 of its A380 aircraft after complaints about disturbing whistling noises and cabin depressurisation.
The problem, which forced an A380 to make an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan, while en route from London to Singapore in January, affects 10% of the A380s around the world, said Tom Williams, executive vice-president of programmes at Airbus.
Williams said: “After Baku we were concerned about reinforcing the cover plate. It went into a high-frequency aerodynamic resonance which resulted in a tearing in the door seal. We realised that although with most there are no issues now, there may be in the future.”
The company issued a safety warning to airlines and deployed an ultrasonic test to expose the problem. All A380s in service have been checked.
“We’re not planning to replace the doors, instead we are going to reinforce them,” he added.
The A380 is the European aircraft-maker’s flagship wide-body plane, dubbed the “flying hotel” by customers because of its size. There are 132 A380s in service and 192 on order.
The company also announced at its Innovation Days event that it was just a year away from a prototype of a curved screen that could be used to replace windows on its aircraft. The prototype is being developed for the A380 and may be fitted in the domed section towards the upper rear of the aircraft, which is windowless because of its conical shape.
Champion, said the “sky terrace” concept had to be tested on the market before it was fully developed.
He said: “The idea is to compose an enhanced passenger outside view instead of a traditional window. We’re in the feasibility stage, which means that this could come live in the coming year. We’re engaged with the customers to see if we can have something after that.”