By Allison Lampert, Carlos Méndez and Mrinmay Dey
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Airbus said on Thursday it had identified and contained a "quality issue" in the fuselage structure of its A321neo aircraft, but that planes could continue operating as it does not pose a safety risk.
A source familiar with the matter said the defect affects about 500 aircraft, including roughly 250 already in service and 250 in production.
The A321neo, Airbus's largest and most popular single-aisle jet, seats up to 244 passengers
and is designed to fly routes of up to 4,000 nautical miles.
It is the second industrial problem to affect the fuselage of the industry’s best-selling model in nine months after Airbus reported defects with fuselage panels last December.
Airbus said it had discovered what it described as a "deviation" in the surface protection or coating applied to skeletal components known as stringers, which run lengthways in a fuselage.
It said the discovery was made while parts were already undergoing rework on the production line.
The latest snag comes as Airbus is trying to increase production of narrowbody jets to 75 a month from about 60 now. Airbus also described that issue as a quality problem with no safety implications, but unravelling the situation caused several months of delivery delays.
Airbus has identified and contained the source of the issue and a remedy is available, it added.
The source said Airbus first spotted the problem over the summer. The first results from closer analysis came back recently.
Customers are continuing to take aircraft deliveries without insisting on extra work being carried out in advance and Airbus has told customers there is no immediate requirement to repair, the source said.
European regulators may, however, issue a directive formally requiring the defects to be repaired within a certain period. Delta, which operates A321neo aircraft, said it is "in contact with our OEM partners continually and will always take action to meet or exceed operator recommendations and regulator directives."
Industry publication the Air Current first reported the issue.
(Reporting by Carlos Méndez, Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City, Allison Lampert in Montreal, Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Editing by Maju Samuel)
