SWISS grounds six Airbus A320neo planes amid Pratt & Whitney engine issues

Oliver Buchofer, Head of Operations at SWISS, told ch-aviation that the number of grounded aircraft might rise further. "We are currently examining whether we will have to temporarily withdraw a small number of aircraft from service again in autumn," he said. The airline is planning around these disruptions to minimize their impact on operations.

While the PW1500G engines powering the A220-100s and A220-300s also have issues—specifically excessive corrosion on high-pressure compressor front hubs—the airline does not expect these models to be affected similarly.

The reliability issues with Pratt & Whitney engines have caused several incidents involving SWISS aircraft:

- On October 13th, 2018, a SWISS A220-100 had an inflight engine shutdown due to a faulty O-ring seal in the engine’s fuel oil cooler.

- On July 29th, 2019, a low-pressure compressor (LPC) disintegrated during a climb on a SWISS A220 flight, leading to an engine failure and diversion to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

- On September 16th, 2019, another LPC broke up during a climb on a different flight; this incident prompted an FAA airworthiness directive requiring borescope inspections on PW1500G engines.

- On October 15th, 2019, yet another LPC issue occurred during flight; this led SWISS to ground its entire A220 fleet until inspections were completed.

These incidents highlight ongoing challenges faced by airlines operating with Pratt & Whitney-powered aircraft.