European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has issued a software update for its A320 Neo aircraft. This was prompted by a recent incident involving a JetBlue Airways Corp. aircraft. According to Airbus, this incident showed that intense sunlight can affect critical control data, potentially forcing the airplane into an unexpected dive.
Initially, there was talk of a large-scale recall that could lead to “possible operational disruptions” for customers. Still, most of the updates were carried out remotely on Friday night and Saturday. Only about a hundred aircraft still require intervention, and they will have to remain grounded for longer.
The update was considered necessary after an earlier incident involving a JetBlue aircraft. On October 30, a JetBlue airliner flying from Newark to Cancun, Mexico, encountered problems. A computer malfunction caused the control column to move downward without the pilot’s input. Ten passengers were injured, and the aircraft was diverted to Tampa Airport.
Popular aircraft
At first, there were fears of significant disruption to air traffic worldwide, as Airbus had issued an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) and announced that around 6,000 aircraft from the A320 family were no longer allowed to fly and needed an urgent software update. However, by Saturday, more than 5,000 aircraft had already been updated – the update took two to three hours per aircraft.
In the end, fewer aircraft than expected were affected, with fewer than 100 still grounded. They need to undergo hardware modifications, which could take several weeks.
Some airlines are particularly affected. Colombia’s Aviance, for example, estimates that 70% of its fleet is affected and anticipates “significant disruptions in the next ten days.” Ticket sales have been suspended until December 8. In the Philippines, local airlines Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have had to cancel more than 40 flights and are offering refunds and date changes to affected passengers.
The A320 family (A318, A319, A320, and A321) is the best-selling aircraft family in the world. Since 1988, more than 12,200 have been sold. The main customers of the popular Airbus aircraft include the British airline EasyJet and the Malaysian airline AirAsia. Brussels Airlines, which operates 35 A320-family aircraft, also managed to limit disruption and did not have to cancel any flights.
