Dubai: Airbus Group and Boeing Co. have both said they are confident in the safety of their aircraft a week after an Airbus A321 crashed into the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
On October 31, an A321 operated by Russian airline Metrojet crashed into the Sinai, killing all 224 on board, shortly after takeoff. It is now believed the crash was caused by a bomb on board.
“I am very confident in the A321 safety record and the safety of the design,” John Leahy, Airbus’ Chief Operating Officer for customer sales, told reporters at the Dubai Airshow on Monday.
But the crash in the Sinai is just the latest in a series of aviation disasters that have raised questions among the travelling public about the safety of flying.
In March 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on route to China. The Boeing 777-200ER (extended range) still has not been found but is believed to be somewhere beneath the Indian Ocean. Months later in July 2014 Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, also a Boeing 777-200ER, was shot down over eastern Ukraine, presumably by Russian-backed separatists by mistake. Then in December 2014, an Air Asia operated Airbus A321 crashed into the Java Sea. In all incidents all on board have or are believed to have perished.
But Boeing says that its fleet, which was involved in two of the incidents, is safe.
“We remain exceptionally confident in the safety of the fleets … These incidents don’t have anything to do with the safety of the aircraft,” Dennis Muilenberg, President and Chief Executive of The Boeing Company.
Muilenberg said some airlines had started discussions about incorporating defence features onto commercial passenger jets since following incidents but that there was “not a big push there.”
Emirates airline President Tim Clark has previously said commercial passenger jets should not be militarised.
