Japan Airlines (JAL) had to divert two Boeing 787 aircraft bound for Tokyo back to their departure airports on 9 October because of different technical issues encountered after take-off.

The first aircraft, registration JA832J, had to return to Moscow's Domodedovo International airport when pilots discovered a failure in the aircraft's electrical system after take-off. The failure affected power to the aircraft's lavatories and galleys, says a JAL spokesman.

The other jet, registration JA825J, turned back to San Diego when an alert indicating failure in the right engine's anti-ice system was activated.

Both aircraft have since returned to service after undergoing the necessary maintenance work, says JAL. Both flights were, however, severely delayed.

JAL is one of the largest 787 operators in the world with 11 787-8s in its fleet. The Japanese carrier also has an additional 13 -8s and 20 of the larger -9 variants on order.

The carrier made the news this week when it signed a landmark deal with Airbus for 31 A350s, its first ever Airbus order. Analysts say reliability issues related to the 787 played a part in turning the loyal Boeing customer towards Airbus.

The global 787 fleet was grounded for more than four months early this year because of issues with the aircraft's lithium-ion batteries.

Source: FlightGlobal.com