Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has sent an urgent warning to customers to “immediately stop” flights of A320 aircraft due to a software error. An Airbus spokesperson confirmed to the French newspaper Le Monde that it would involve approximately 6,000 devices. According to Airbus, updating the aircraft software could lead to “operational disruptions for passengers and customers.”
The software update follows an incident with an A320 aircraft from the American JetBlue Airways. The aircraft, which was en route from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark (New Jersey) at the end of October, suddenly experienced a loss of altitude. The analysis of the incident showed that the aircraft’s controls were disrupted by “intense solar radiation”.
According to the European aircraft manufacturer, a software update will be enough to solve the problems for approximately 5,000 aircraft. According to Airbus, this should take several hours. The remaining 1,000 aircraft require replacement of cockpit hardware. This delay could last “several weeks”, the French news agency AFP writes based on insiders.
More than 12,000 Airbus A320 aircraft are in use worldwide. The software error means that half of the global fleet must be grounded. The European aviation authority EASA has issued an emergency directive for the software adjustment.
KLM says the issue has no impact on the company because the company’s A321neo aircraft use different software. “There is therefore no impact on the safety or operations of the KLM A321neo fleet,” the company told the ANP news agency.
NEW: Give this item as a gift
As an NRC subscriber you can subscribe every month 10 items give as a gift to someone without an NRC subscription. The recipient can read the article directly, without a paywall.
Why you can trust NRC