This story is ridiculous! Passengers of a SriLankan Airlines A340 refused to fly without its wingtip and started “a minor revolt”.
The wingtip was removed after it sliced through the wing of a British Airways 747 one day earlier. The crew insisted that it’s just a aerodynamic part to keep fuel costs low and that the plane could fly just fine without it, but passengers weren’t buying it and left the plane. Continue at bostonherald.com …
… stupid, stupid passengers …
Yep, that’s pretty nuts. While it’s not the PREFERRED option, indeed, an A340 (or just about any other winglet-equipped aircraft) is perfectly airworthy without the winglet, as long as there is no damage to the wing itself. The condition might create a little more drag, and burn a little more fuel, but other than that, good to go.
The wingtip isn’t “preferred”, it’s required. It was part of the aircraft when it was certified and without it, the aircraft isn’t in the “as-certified” condition and therefor is not airworthy.