Nine grounded Embraer 190 airliners return to service at Virgin

Nine Embraer 190 airliners that had been grounded have returned to service at Virgin. The grounding came after the discovery of a fault with bolts that held the plane's engine in place, media reports said.

The discovery of the fault had led to a worldwide alert.

The carrier is currently in serious recovery mode at Sydney Airport after the entire T2 domestic terminal was shut down for three hours today, following a power outage.

An 'alert service bulletin' was issued by the Brazilian manufacturer to all airlines after Virgin reported the problem.

The issue concerned bolts that held the engine onto the engine pylon, which was attached to the plane's wing.

A full inspection of its fleet of 17 Embraer 190 aircraft revealed that nine of the aircraft were faulty, which were grounded for repairs to be carried out.

A Virgin spokesman said the company identified the initial issue with the bolt and advised the manufacturer, following which the manufacturer sent out a notification.

'These aircraft have since undergone the necessary precautionary repairs and have since returned to service,' the airline said in an additional statement. ''At Virgin Australia, the safety of our aircraft is our highest priority and we have been in regular dialogue with Embraer regarding this alert.''

The Embraer 190 is slightly smaller than a Boeing 737. The carrier uses the plane to service regional and metro routes across the country, including Brisbane to Sydney, as also flights to Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands.