A380 superjumbo wing crack repairs 'not urgent': Airbus

The France-based plane-maker confirmed a weekend media report on the time needed to fix the fault, but insisted there was "no necessity to immobilise the planes for eight weeks in a row".

A spokesman told AFP the repairs could be conducted during the "heavy checks" carried out on planes after two, four and six years of flight.

Aviation magazine FlightGlobal said at the weekend the eight-week timeframe was equivalent to 30,000 hours of labour.

Airbus, the main subsidiary of aerospace giant EADS, has said the

on a limited number of double-decker A380 aircraft.

It said they posed no safety threat and had not damaged the plane's popularity with travellers.

The European plane-maker is to begin building A380 wings without the defect using a new type of aluminium next year, which means aircraft delivered from 2014 onwards.

Airbus has said it will cover the cost of the repairs but will not pay any compensation for lost revenue during the work.

The A380, which entered service in 2007, is the world's biggest passenger jet and a key product in Airbus's line-up as it battles its main rival, US giant Boeing, for the top spot in the world civil airliner industry.