Deliveries of the Airbus A380 superjumbo airliner will be cut this year from the planned 20 to 19, because of the failure of a Rolls Royce engine last month, company chairman Thomas Enders said yesterday.

The incident will also affect deliveries next year, he said.

On November 4, a Trent 900 engine made by Rolls-Royce of Britain and fitted on an A380 flown by Australian airline Qantas exploded in mid-flight causing serious damage to the aircraft.

Airbus has previously warned that the incident would affect deliveries owing to the time needed for inspections and replacements for the engine which powers aircraft used by three customers for the A380 – Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa of Germany.

Mr Enders said in a letter to staff, seen by AFP, that “huge” progress had been made on the A380 programme this year and production costs had been reduced.