A Fiji Airways Airbus A330-200 has been removed from service after it experienced a heavy landing at Sydney airport on 20 March.

When contacted, the airline confirmed that the aircraft, registered DQ-FJT, was involved in a heavy landing incident but gave no further details to the extent of the damage suffered by the twinjet.

“After the inspection of the aircraft by our maintenance supplier in Sydney, it got released and cleared to fly back to Nadi, so was safe to fly back,” says chief executive and managing director Stefan Pichler.

The aircraft has since been removed from service for “unscheduled maintenance”, while an internal investigation into the circumstances of the landing is underway.

Pichler adds that the A330 is expected to return to service in time for the Easter peak schedule. The airline has temporarily adjusted its schedule to cover the unserviceable aircraft.

Flightglobal’s Ascend Online Fleets database shows that the aircraft was built in 2013 and is owned by Fiji Airways and financed by KfW IPEX-Bank.

Fiji Airways’ fleet comprises of three A330-200s, three Boeing 737-800s and one 737-700.

Source: Cirium Dashboard