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By Scott Hamilton
July 7, 2026, © Leeham News: Airbus and Pratt & Whitney say that the problems that have ailed the A220 program are resolved and there won’t be any A220s grounded due to geared turbofan engines by the end of this year.
Currently, only 2-3% of the grounded A220s are due to the engine problems that have plagued not only the A220, but also the A320neo family. The latter has been hit much harder by various GTF technical issues. The problems have been so severe and so lengthy that both families have seen a handful of very early scrapping to provide engines for grounded aircraft.
Airbus and Pratt & Whitney say there won't be any A220s grounded due to GTF engine issues by the end of this year. Credit: Airbus.
For the A220, officials from both companies provided the details at a media briefing on June 24 at the A220 production plant at Mirabel Airport in Canada.
Airbus officials also confirmed that the potential stretch of the A220 will be powered only by the GTF. The market refers to the airplane as the A220-500, a name not adopted by Airbus. Officials refer to the possible aircraft as the A220 Stretch. The aircraft will be a “simple” stretch, trading range for payload.
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