December 10, 2025 — 12:21pm
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An A380 plane that Qantas highlighted as part of its fleet returning to service last week has suffered an embarrassing grounding in the US after part of its wing peeled apart.
The A380 had been returned to service last week, flying from Sydney to Los Angeles on Sunday, after spending years in storage. The plane was grounded in Los Angeles on Sunday (US time) following damage to the slat on its left wing, which resulted in what appeared to be a hole in the surface.
A photo posted on Instagram by passenger Lynn Gilmartin showing a hole in the wing of a Qantas plane.Instagram/lynngilmartin
“A section of the slat on the left wing of one of our A380s was found to be damaged after landing in Los Angeles Sunday local time,” a spokesperson for Qantas confirmed.
“The aircraft operated normally and landed without incident. Engineers are now replacing the slat so it can return to operations.”
The slat is used to expand the surface of the wing during take-off and landing, allowing the plane to fly more slowly without stalling.
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Qantas confirmed that the plane, with registration VHOQC, also had an unrelated electrical system malfunction on the 13-hour-flight to California, which prevented some passengers from using the in-flight entertainment system.
The A380 was scheduled to make a return trip to Sydney later on Sunday. However, the part to repair the plane is en route to Los Angeles now and expected to arrive by Wednesday evening AEDT. At that time, Qantas will update customers affected by the grounding.
Qantas said the plane, which began service in 2008 and was dubbed the “Paul McGinness” after one of the airline’s founders, would function as a spare during the busy Christmas period.
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Former Coalition treasurer Joe Hockey posted on Instagram a text message from Qantas stating that his upcoming flight QF12 to Sydney for December 7 had been cancelled.
“The aircraft now requires extended maintenance to ensure a safe flight,” the text said.
“Our dedicated resolutions team is working closely with our VIP Service Team to find alternative flights and will update you in approx 60 minutes. This is our highest priority, please wait to hear from us with your new flight details.”
The Sydney-Los Angeles flight was the plane’s first commercial flight after returning to service.
“YOU MUST BE KIDDING #qantas”, Hockey wrote in his social media post.
It’s understood Hockey was later rebooked on a separate flight to reach his destination.
The grounding of the Airbus follows Qantas’ publicity spruiking the plane’s return to service last week. In a statement released on December 5, the airline highlighted how much maintenance work had gone into the plane.
“As the largest passenger aircraft in the world, the A380 has unique engineering requirements, and maintenance and engineering teams from around the world have completed more than 100,000 hours of work along with a full cabin refresh to prepare ‘Paul McGinness’ to rejoin the international fleet,” Qantas touted.
A spokesperson for Airbus said the company had “provided all necessary technical support to Qantas”.
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