Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said on Monday it had started a fleet-wide inspection of its Airbus A350 aircraft as a precautionary measure after it identified an engine component failure in one of its flights.

The carrier said it had cancelled 24 return flights operating up until the end of Tuesday, and that a number of aircraft would be out of service for several days while the process is being completed.

The failure was identified in an aircraft that was forced to return from its flight to Zurich earlier on Monday. Cathay said the component was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide.

"Thus far we have identified a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced. Spare parts have been secured and repair work is underway," it said.

The company added that it was coordinating with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and the aircraft and engine manufacturer.

Cathay operates a mixed fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft and has around 100 planes currently on order including freighters, narrow-bodies and wide-bodies, with rights to acquire another 80.