Singapore Airlines grounds A380s

Singapore Airlines has grounded three of its A380 aircraft to switch engines.

The aircraft, in London, Melbourne and Sydney, will be flown to Singapore where their Rolls-Royce engines will be swapped for newer versions.

The move follows the incident last week when a Qantas A380 was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines exploded on a flight shortly after take-off.

The Australian airline grounded its six A380s last Thursday.

Singapore Airlines said Rolls Royce had advised it to ground the aircraft and put in the new engines.

But it stressed that the oil stains found in its engines were different to those discovered by Qantas.

A spokesman said: "We apologise to our customers for flight disruptions that may result and we seek their understanding."

It did not confirm how long the planes would be grounded for.