The Japanese cargo airline temporarily suspended operations from June 17. According to the airline, one inappropriate maintenance record concerning the lubricating oil supply to the aircraft parts has been found during an inspection. Due to that, the fleet of eleven Boeing 747 freighter aircraft has been grounded for verification of maintenance records and airworthiness certification.
Nippon Cargo Airlines temporarily suspends operations https://t.co/TOOz714lA0
— International Flight Network (@FlightIntl) June 16, 2018
At first, the Tokyo-based cargo airline announced a service resumption after approximately one week. However, the verification took longer than originally expected.
On July 5, the first aircraft re-entered into service after the investigation. As of October 4, nine of the airline’s eleven Boeing 747 aircraft have still been grounded. Data of flight tracking website ‘Flightradar24.com‘ show that most 747s haven’t been in commercial service since May 2018.
The airline said that normal operation will resume in sequence as soon as the aircraft safety is confirmed. In addition to the current routes Tokyo-Shanghai, Tokyo-Hong Kong and Tokyo-Anchorage-Chicago, European services to Amsterdam and Milan are set to be resumed on October 5.
Nick Wenzel founded International Flight Network in 2016. He is the Social Media Manager and an Editor for IFN.news.
