Up to 40 Rolls-Royce engines on Airbus A380 superjumbos worldwide will need to be replaced, according to Australian airline Qantas.

澳洲航空公司称，全世界范围内共有40架A380超级客机上的劳斯莱斯引擎需要更换。

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Rolls Royce has said a specific component in the engine was to blame for the fire

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce was speaking two weeks after a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on an A380 exploded in mid-air, forcing an emergency landing.

Qantas has grounded its six Airbuses since the incident.

The Trent 900 engines are used on A380s operated by Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.

Between them the three airlines operate 20 A380 planes, each of which has four Rolls-Royce engines.

Mr Joyce told reporters at Sydney airport the airline had already replaced three engines on its planes.

"We've been talking to Airbus and Rolls-Royce and we understand that the number [of engines to be replaced] is around 40," he said.

Investigators² believe an oil leak inside the engines may have caused the fire on the Qantas flight from Singapore to Sydney on 4 November.

Rolls-Royce has said the engine failure "was confined to a specific component" which led to an oil fire and loss of turbine（涡轮） pressure.

The plane was forced to return to Singapore shortly after take-off.

All 459 passengers and crew were unharmed but analysts³ said it was the most serious incident in the three-year history of the Airbus plane.