Airbus said in a statement A recent incident has shown that intense solar radiation can corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.
According to Reuters, the incident that brought the issue to light is related to a JetBlue flight from Cancún, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey on October 30.
That flight had to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida, and several people were taken to the hospital after a flight control problem and a sudden uncontrolled drop in altitude.
Airbus says action could cause delays to busy weekend travel
“Airbus has identified a large number of A320 family aircraft currently in service that may be impacted,” the company said.
“Airbus recognizes that these recommendations will cause operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” the statement said.
Air France canceled 35 flights on Friday due to a software error and more flights are expected on Saturday.
Lufthansa expresses optimism
Germany’s Lufthansa Group, on the other hand, did not expect any major disruption to its flight operations.
“Most of the software updates were made last night and Saturday morning,” a company spokesperson said Saturday.
However, individual Lufthansa delays cannot be ruled out.
American Airlines told AFP news agency on Saturday that “the majority” of its approximately 340 affected A320 planes had already been repaired and there had been “some delays” due to required updates.
According to its own statements, US competitor United Airlines experienced “minor disruption to some flights”.
In Europe, easyJet announced that all of its aircraft had already received the update and no flight cancellations were necessary.
The two largest Indian airlines, IndiGo and Air India, expected delays but no cancellations.
However, other companies were significantly more affected. For example, Colombian airline Avianca fears “significant disruption over the next ten days” and has suspended ticket sales until December 8 because it will have to overhaul about 70% of its fleet.
In the Philippines, Philippine Airlines and Seibu Pacific had to cancel more than 40 flights.
Its effects can be felt for weeks
Its effect can be felt for weeks. Globally, hundreds of jets may require hardware changes, which could take several weeks.
The disruption comes as millions of Americans travel by air for the Thanksgiving holiday period.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko
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