Ryanair rejects 737 safety claims as ‘rubbish’

Three affected aircraft had been operating on UK routes until last month

Standard issue: the Boeing 737-800 is the only aircraft type that Ryanair flies (Simon Calder)

Ryanair has rejected as “rubbish” a newspaper report that it failed to disclose that three of its planes have been grounded.

The Guardian is reporting that three Ryanair Boeing 737s are being repaired after checks on aircraft in service in China revealed cracks in a key component.

On some older 737s, cracks have been found in the “pickle fork”, which attaches the wings to the fuselage.

When the problem was identified, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued an Airworthiness Directive that instructed airlines to inspect planes with more than 30,000 cycles (take-offs and landings) within 60 days.

Over the past five weeks around 50 older models of the twin-jet have been grounded for repairs worldwide, with Gol of Brazil, Qantas of Australia and Southwest of the US among those to find faulty aircraft.

Ryanair is Europe’s biggest budget airline and has a fleet of more than 400 Boeing 737-800 jets.

While the airline says the average age of its fleet is six-and-a-half years, some planes are significantly older.

Ryanair says that 70 of its aircraft have been inspected, and the rate of finding faults is lower than the 5 per cent worldwide average.

The three aircraft affected are registered as EI-DAL, EI-DCJ and EI-DCL. The first is 16 years old, the other two a year younger.

Records show that all three operated UK services a month ago, but none has flown commercially since 9 October.

During the winter season, Ryanair routinely grounds dozens of aircraft because of low demand.

A spokesperson for the carrier said: “This morning’s report on the ‘pickle fork’ issue in The Guardian newspaper is rubbish.

“Ryanair openly confirmed to The Guardian newspaper yesterday that this tiny number of findings would not affect either Ryanair’s operating fleet or flights, because the airline has moved to its winter schedule from the end of October.”

The cracks are unconnected with the Boeing 737 Max, which is grounded worldwide following two fatal crashes that cost 346 lives.

Both accidents have been blamed on an anti-stall system that forced the aircraft down in response to a faulty sensor.