Luxair’s recent fleet expansion with six new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft has come under scrutiny following a safety warning issued by Brazil’s aviation authority, which restricts the aircraft’s operation in certain cold and low-visibility conditions.

The Brazilian regulator National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), which is responsible for the certification of Embraer aircraft, warned that the E195-E2 must not operate in freezing fog, visibility below 110 metres, and temperatures under 3°C.

According to the authority, the engines installed on the aircraft may be unable to cope with such conditions.

Also read:Delivery of Embraer signals end of turboprop era for Luxair

“There have been cases of compressor shutdown in PW1100 engines in freezing fog with poor visibility and low temperatures during ground operations. An investigation into this problem is currently underway,” said the ANAC in a report.

An aircraft only for the summer?

The authority warned that compressor shutdowns could result in a loss of engine thrust during take-off, a critical phase of flight, and that, if no corrective measures are taken, multiple engines could be affected simultaneously, potentially leading to loss of control of the aircraft.

Such weather conditions are quite normal during winter months in Central Europe.

The warning comes just days after Luxair celebrated the official inauguaration of the new aircraft with a flight to Vienna, with both Luxair CEO Gilles Feith and Transport Minister Yuriko Backes present.

On Monday morning, however, a Luxair flight on one of the new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, scheduled to travel to Milan, was forced to return to Luxembourg shortly after take-off. Luxair described the decision as a precautionary measure, but declined to provide further details.

Also read:Brand new Luxair aircraft forced to turn back en route to Milan

By 18:00 on Monday evening, Luxair had not yet responded to a request for comment from the Luxemburger Wort on when it became aware of the warning issued by the Brazilian aviation authority, or how it will respond.

Luxair has ordered six Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, with the option to purchase three additional jets at a later stage.

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI and edited by Kabir Agarwal.)