Mexican carrierInterjethas grounded 11 Sukhoi Superjet 100s with stabiliser defects pending repairs.

The aircraft were grounded after inspections of the 22 SSJ100s in Interjet’s fleet were completed on 27 December, Mexico’s civil aviation authority says in a statement.

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Repairs are scheduled to be complete by the end of January, the regulator says.

The inspections occurred after a defect in the “stabiliser attachment bands” was found on one SSJ100, prompting an airworthiness directive from Russian authorities on 23 December.

Sukhoi Superjet has said the stabiliser issue is not “critical” and has multiple redundancies that gives it a “safety margin which is more than twice the operational loads”.

There are 85 SSJ100s in service globally, the Flight Fleets Analyzer shows. Aeroflot is the largest operator with 29 aircraft.

The Mexican regulator has authorisedInterjetto operate one of its Airbus A321s on the 11 routes impacted by the SSJ100 grounding, it says. Other Mexican carriers have also agreed to carryInterjetpassengers in these markets.

Interjetoperates three A321s, which were delivered in September and October, Fleets Analyzer shows.

The carrier was not immediately available for comment.