A380 wing safety checks ordered

Europe's air safety authority is calling on airlines to inspect their A380 superjumbo jets after Airbus found new cracks in the metal brackets inside the wings.

The European Aviation Safety Agency today issued an airworthiness directive that called for "a detailed visual inspection" of the aircraft's so-called "wing rib feet" - the metal brackets that connect the wing's ribs to its skin.

The agency gives airlines between four days and six weeks from January 24 to carry out the checks, depending on how much flying time the plane already has clocked up.

Sixty-eight of the double-decker, 390 million dollar jets are flying with seven airlines, including Dubai's Emirates, the largest A380 operator with 20 of the aircraft now flying.

The jet seats 525 people in three classes.