Airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft will have to ground some of them starting tomorrow, Sunday, until critical software – and in some cases hardware – upgrades are completed. A related directive was issued on Friday evening by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
The directive concerns approximately 6,000 aircraft of the A320 family, including the A319, A320, and A321. However, not all of them will need to be grounded. The aim is the immediate upgrade of aircraft that are considered to require more complex interventions beyond a simple software update.
Greek airlines AEGEAN and SKY express state that there is no issue and that flights are operating normally.
Triggered by a recent incident in the United States
Airbus announced that the directives were issued following an analysis of a “recent incident,” which revealed that intense solar radiation may alter data that is critical for the operation of flight-control systems.
According to the announcement, “Airbus identified a significant number of A320-family aircraft currently in service that may be affected.”
Airbus acknowledges that these recommendations will lead to disruptions in flights for passengers and customers. “We apologize for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with the airlines, keeping safety as our first and highest priority,” it notes.
According to international reports, the incident involves a JetBlue A320 that made an emergency landing in Florida after a sudden loss of altitude. At least 15 passengers were reportedly injured during the event, according to the BBC.
“Inevitably some delays and flight cancellations”
The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a warning to travellers, stressing that the measure will affect “some A320-family aircraft that are registered in the UK and belong to British carriers.”
The CAA notes that airlines must proceed immediately with upgrades over the coming days, while from Sunday, aircraft that have not complied will remain grounded. As highlighted, the result will “inevitably be some delays and flight cancellations.”
It is noted that the A320 family forms the backbone of the short-haul fleets of most European airlines, with the exception of Ryanair, which exclusively uses Boeing aircraft. It remains unknown how much time will be required in total for the upgrades, especially in cases where hardware interventions are needed.
The disruption occurs during an important holiday weekend in the United States, Thanksgiving. Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration said that more than seven million passengers were expected to fly over the weekend.
Four of the world’s ten largest A320-family operators are major U.S. airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and United Airlines.
The directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) states that, from 29 November, airplanes deemed to be affected may carry passengers only after repairs have been completed. They will be allowed to operate flights without passengers in order to land at a maintenance facility.
American Airlines stated that 340 of its aircraft have been affected by the issue.
EasyJet reports that it has “already completed” the software update on many of its aircraft and plans to operate its flights normally on Saturday.
AEGEAN and SKY express state that there is no issue
AEGEAN
“AEGEAN promptly completed the implementation of Airbus’s directive – The company’s flight schedule continues normally. AEGEAN informs that, following the directive issued last night by Airbus for the immediate restoration of software on certain A320-family aircraft, it activated in time all required operational and technical procedures. The implementation of the directive has already been successfully completed and the flight schedule continues normally, without any change or modification. The safety of our passengers and crews is our non-negotiable priority.”
SKY express
SKY express informs the travelling public “that none of its aircraft is included among the 6,000 A320-family aircraft that require a software upgrade according to Airbus’s directive. SKY express flights are operating normally.”
