Qantas is reassuring passengers its flagship Airbus A380 planes are safe after cracks were found in the wings of one of its aircraft.
The airline today said "minuscule cracking" was found in the wing ribs of an A380 undergoing repairs in Singapore.
The cracking, which has since been fixed, was
unrelated to an engine failure the plane suffered in November 2010.
The superjumbo plane's manufacturer, Airbus, has been developing formal guidance for operators of the A380 - the world's largest commercial airliner - after cracks were discovered on the wing ribs of five planes worldwide.
The guidance was likely to require operators to inspect wing ribs every four years, in line with scheduled maintenance checks.
