The Irish airline carrier, Ryanair, has denied claims made on Wednesday that three of its Boeing 737 planes were grounded due to structural cracking.
The airline reportedly grounded at least three of its Boeing 737s due to cracking in the 'pickle fork' structure, located between the wings and main body of the aircraft, The Guardian wrote on Wednesday.
#Ryanair quietly grounded Boeing 737 planes over 'pickle fork' cracking, becoming the latest airline to act on the problem.https://t.co/8hCSrEBBsJ pic.twitter.com/XMgT11xpDz
— Amy Maddern (@AmyMaddern) November 6, 2019
The 'pickle fork', a large structure that strengthens the connection between the wing and the body of the plane, has been a popular subject of media attention in recent weeks, following the discovery by a number of airlines of cracks in the structure on Boeing 737 planes.
Indeed, since 3 October, 50 Boeing 737s across the world have been grounded due to cracks in the 'pickle fork' structure.
"This morning's report on the 'pickle fork' issue in The Guardian newspaper is rubbish," Ryanair said on Wednesday in a statement to the Irish public media service, RTÉ.
The airline is "confident that the tiny number of pickle fork cracks, if any, will not affect either Ryanair's fleet, its flights, or its schedules," the statement continued.
Ryanair does not expect that the global 'pickle fork' issue will “have any impact upon our operations or fleet availability,” the airline previously told The Irish Times on 31 October.
The Irish airline carrier operates the largest fleet of Boeing 737s in Europe.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
