The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered safety checks on all Airbus A380 jets following reports that a Qantas A380 plane suffered cracks after it hit severe turbulence over India in January.

The EASA order covered all operators of the Airbus jets and other planes that approach 1300 landing and take-off cycles. The regulator previously ordered a detailed visual inspection of the Airbus 380 aircraft's wing rib feet or the metal brackets that connect the wing's ribs to its skin.

In response to the first EASA directive, Airbus developed repair kits for the problem and is installing the kits. Airbus said that despite the problem, the jets are airworthy.

"These brackets are located on wing ribs which are not main load bearing structure, and, thus, the safe operation of the aircraft is not affected," Airbus said in a statement.

"Nearly 4,000 such brackets are used on the A380 to join the wing-skin to the ribs. Only a handful of brackets have been found to have been affected," the manufacturer added.

However, EASA said the condition, if undetected and not corrected, could potentially affect the structural integrity of the aircraft. Its second directive covers all 68 A380 jets used by seven different airlines, including Qantas.

Qantas confirmed on Thursday that the air carrier will conduct repairs on its fleet's wing rib feet. Qantas has 12 Airbus A380 superjumbo jets.

The Australian flag carrier grounded on Sunday the plane that was hit by severe turbulence while flying over Indian airspace. Seven passengers were injured. An inspection found 36 hairline cracks on its wings, but the airline said the cracks were not related to the turbulence or is specific to Qantas but due to a manufacturing issue. Qantas said the cracks have no effect on flight safety.

Qantas said it would conduct the first inspection within the next six weeks, but stressed that none of its A380 fleet has yet reached 1300 cycles.

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