A newly delivered Airbus A220-300 operated by Croatia Airlines was diverted or forced to return to Zagreb three times in a single day last week following an unspecified technical issue. The aircraft, registered 9A-CAU, had joined the Croatian flag carrier’s fleet just eleven days earlier. According to EX-YU Aviation News, the aircraft was operating a service from Split to Dublin on Thursday, July 31, when it diverted to Zagreb shortly after take-off.
The aircraft subsequently made a second attempt to operate the flight to Dublin, but returned to Zagreb after only around ten minutes in the air. Croatia Airlines then replaced the aircraft, allowing passengers to continue their journey to Ireland.
However, the A220-300 encountered another problem on its next scheduled flight. Operating from Zagreb to Brussels later that day, 9A-CAU returned to the Croatian capital after approximately 20 minutes in the air.
The aircraft was subsequently taken out of service for the remainder of Thursday and all of Friday. It returned to commercial operations on Saturday and has since completed several flights without further reported problems.
The exact nature of the technical issue has not been disclosed. Passengers on the affected flights were reportedly informed that the aircraft had experienced a minor technical problem.
Source: EX-YU Aviation News