Qantas says superjumbos safe despite wing cracks

Qantas is reassuring passengers its flagship Airbus A380 planes are safe after cracks were found in the wings of one of its aircraft.

The airline today said "minuscule cracking" was found in the wing ribs of an A380 undergoing repairs in Singapore.

The cracking, which has since been fixed, was unrelated to an engine failure the plane suffered in November 2010.

The superjumbo plane's manufacturer, Airbus, has been developing formal guidance for operators of the A380 - the world's largest commercial airliner - after cracks were discovered on the wing ribs of five planes worldwide.

The guidance was likely to require operators to inspect wing ribs every four years, in line with scheduled maintenance checks.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline would comply fully with the guidance when it was published.

"No immediate action is required by A380 operators because the cracking presents no risk whatsoever to flight safety."

Qantas' fleet of A380s operate on its London and Los Angeles routes, and would soon start scheduled flights to Hong Kong.

The airline does not operate A380s on transtasman routes.