SIA grounds Airbus A380 due to scratches found on fuselage

Singapore Airlines has grounded one of its Airbus A380 jets after scratches were found on its body, the airline said on Wednesday. Engineers at the Changi Airport in Singapore are checking the superjumbo after it was grounded in Germany due to the scratches. The flight SQ25 from New York to Singapore via Frankfurt landed in Singapore on Tuesday morning after a 23-hour delay. The plane was inspected by engineers in Frankfurt and cleared for take-off. The cause of the damage has not been established, but an unconfirmed report has suggested that the double-decker superjumbo hit an aerobridge in New York while it was being pushed out for departure. A spokesperson for the company said passengers were either moved to hotels or transferred to other airlines while the checks were being carried out. There were 126 passengers and 26 crew on board when it landed in Singapore on Tuesday. The plane will resume commercial service once cleared. It is the second incident involving an A380 aircraft at Singapore Airlines in recent weeks. Last month, the Flight SQ317 to Singapore made an emergency landing in Azerbaijan about 10 hours after leaving London. The plane had lost cabin pressure - apparently due to a leak in one of its doors. Passengers were flown back in a replacement aircraft. The door was replaced before the aircraft could return to Singapore.