CRACKS that have appeared in the wings of Airbus's superjumbo are being blamed on a design fault at the firm's factory in Filton.
The problem of cracks has led to headlines across the world and has led to safety checks being carried out on every A380 in service.
Airbus has been quick to point out that there is no threat to safety and all the aircraft involved are still in service.
But the issue has still been an international embarrassment and will eventually see the entire fleet grounded so remedial work can be carried out.
The A380 is currently the largest aircraft in commercial operation and one of the most advance planes in the world.
A large part of the research and design work for the wings of the plane were carried out at the Airbus factory in Filton.
And according to reports in the aviation trade press, the problem has now been traced back to a design fault which originated at the South Gloucestershire factory.
The whole problem first arose when the Rolls-Royce built engine of a Qantas A380 blew up in mid-air.
As a result, a series of safety checks were carried out and the miniscule cracks were discovered in the plane's wings.
The cracks are in brackets in the middle of the giant wings and it is understood they have been discovered on every plane checked so far.
The manufacturer has been forced to order a global reacall to fix the offending aluminium brackets which hold the wing's skin to the structure.
The news is being seen as a major blow to the prestige British industry.
The minor cracks are no more than two centimetres long but Airbus is bringing in the aircraft for the fix after about 1,300 flights when the enormous stress of thousands of hours of airtime start to make the problem worse.
The aviation industry is particularly sensitive to safety issues and the latest problems could cost Airbus at least £80 million in compensation payments.
The problem has also come at a sensitive time for Airbus because its parent company EADS is releasing its financial results for the last 12 months in Paris within the next couple of days.
Safety problems can have a direct affect on the performance of shares on the stock market.
The crash of an Airbus plane over the Atlantic just over two years ago which killed everyone on board led to shivers across the aviation industry.
According to sources within the industry the issues with the A380 have been traced back to Filton.
One industry source is quoted as saying "The issue is around the type of aluminium being used and the fitting, which, as a result of the assembly creates the crack.
"This is a design and process engineering failure."
Airbus has not been drawn on the subject but is in the process of carrying out its own inquiry.
A spokesman said: "This issue involves many parts of the organisation. We won't be commenting on individual sites but we are absolutely focussed on resolving the issue."
He added: "Airbus has developed repair kits which are currently being installed. It is also important to stress that the safe operation of the aircraft is not affected and has never been affected at any stage."
Like most major aeroplane programmes the A380 was blighted by a series of problems, delays and cost overruns.
The plane went into service two years later and billions of euros over budget.
As reported in the Evening Post questions have already started to surface about the latest Airbus project – the A350.
The development of the plane is already running an estimated six months late and people working on the project have described the timescale as "challenging".
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