Angola Airlines flights to Dubai stay grounded after engine drama

Flights from Dubai to Angola operated by state-backed carrier Angola Airlines Company (TAAG) will remain grounded for the foreseeable future, after a jet was forced to make an emergency landing earlier this month.

Dubai-based Sharaf Travel, TAAG’s representative in the UAE, said it had “no idea” when scheduled flights would restart.

A Boeing 777 owned by the airline was forced to make an emergency landing en route to Dubai last week when one of its jet engines caught fire minutes after takeoff.

The incident, which occurred less than two weeks after another TAAG aircraft experienced engine trouble in Lisbon, Portugal, prompted the carrier to ground its Boeing 77 fleet.

“In the face of two similar incidents in the space of 17 days, TAAG has decided to suspend all flights for its Boeing 777-200ER fleet for the sake of caution and international security,” TAAG spokesman Rui Carreira told Angolan state radio station RNA.

“We will demand a report from the manufacturers of the motor and the plane, General Motors and Boeing, respectively, who will carry out an investigation to determine the causes.”

 

The airline, which is wholly owned by the Angolan government, was banned from operating Boeing 777 flights to the European Union airspace until 2007, over safety concerns.
It began flights to Dubai in May 2008.

 

Dubai’s Emirates Airline launched flights to Angola, Africa’s second largest oil exporter, in August 2010 and currently operates three services a week.

Source: arabianbusiness.com

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