Air Tanzania (TC, Dar es Salaam) has warned of flight delays, schedule changes, disruptions, and aircraft substitutions until November 14, 2026, following the early removal of engines from some of its A220-300s.

In a public notice, the airline said the engine removals had necessitated adjustments to its flight operations and schedules. Affected passengers were offered alternative travel arrangements where necessary.

ADS-B data showed that three of the airline's four A220-300s are currently in maintenance:

  • 5H-TCM (msn 55135) has been parked at Kilimanjaro since September 12, 2026;
  • 5H-TCI (msn 55048) has been grounded in Dar es Salaam since October 5; and
  • 5H-TCL (msn 55130) was pulled out of service on November 7, at Dar es Salaam.

Only 5H-TCH (msn 55047) is currently continuing flights from the Tanzanian capital to Dubai International, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Zanzibar, and Muscat, according to ADS-B data.

Air Tanzania's has faced years of technical problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1000 PW1524G-3 geared turbofan (GTF) engines powering its A220-300 fleet.

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Pratt & Whitney told ch-aviation: "Engine-related A220 AOGs are already in the low single digits, and we expect them to be cleared by year's end. We are working closely with Air Tanzania to support their fleet."

Air Tanzania did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the US Federal Register, the PW1524G-3 has mainly suffered from premature wear and durability problems, including accelerated removal of engines for high-pressure-turbine (HPT) and high-pressure-compressor (HPC) maintenance, plus a few serious early low-pressure-compressor failures. These issues have caused unscheduled engine removals, inspections, and aircraft groundings.

Notably, in 2019, two Swiss A220-300 PW1524G-3 engines suffered in-flight shutdowns after the first-stage low-pressure-compressor rotor fractured from high-cycle fatigue. This resulted in Swiss temporarily grounding its entire A220 fleet.

In 2022, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a proposal to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Pratt & Whitney GTF engines following an un-commanded dual engine shutdown on landing. In 2024, the FAA adopted a new AD for certain Pratt & Whitney engine models, including the PW1524G-3, prompted by an engine shutdown and aborted takeoff.

Earlier this year, Airbus Canada and the engine manufacturer said that the technical issues that had plagued the A220 programme had largely been resolved, and they expected no A220 aircraft to remain grounded with GTF problems by the end of 2026.