After a short-term inspection of around 6,000 Airbus aircraft in the A320 series, the restrictions on air traffic remained manageable.
After a tip from the aircraft manufacturer, some airlines carried out the software update on Friday evening, which often resolved the identified problem. Many travelers who were booked on an A320 aircraft hardly noticed anything about the short-term action.
Lufthansa began implementing the measures prescribed by Airbus that evening. A spokesman said that the majority of the software updates could be carried out overnight and on Saturday morning. “There are unlikely to be any flight cancellations by the Lufthansa Group airlines due to the situation, but isolated delays at the weekend cannot be ruled out.”
Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) praised the immediate implementation of the measures: “The quick action of everyone involved shows that the safety systems in aviation work. Airbus as a manufacturer and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) reacted very quickly after identifying a possible error,” Schnieder told the “Bild” newspaper. “This is also imperative because the safety of the crews and passengers is always the top priority.”
Only isolated impacts on air traffic
The British airline easyJet also said in response to a dpa request on Saturday that it had already carried out “the majority” of the updates and that flight operations were running as planned. According to the PA news agency, only three aircraft at British Airways were affected, so there should be no restrictions. Britain’s Transport Minister Heidi Alexander said on Friday evening that only a small number of aircraft were affected. London airports expected no or only isolated impacts on air traffic.
Air France canceled 35 flights on Friday evening, but expected a quick return to normal operations after individual cancellations on Saturday. In South Korea, for example, over 40 Airbus A320 series aircraft were affected by the recall. However, according to the Ministry of Transport, no major flight delays or cancellations were expected.
Emergency landing after an uncontrolled loss of altitude
Airbus announced on Friday evening that after an incident with an Airbus A320, it was discovered that intense particle streams triggered by the sun could lead to incorrect data processing in one of the flight control computers, which is crucial for control. According to the European Aviation Safety Agency, the incident involved a Jetblue flight from Cancun in Mexico to Newark in the US state of New Jersey on October 30th. The flight had to make an emergency landing after a problem with the flight controls and a sudden, uncontrolled loss of altitude.
Airbus also said that, in collaboration with aviation authorities, it had asked airlines to take precautionary protective measures that included software and/or hardware. In many cases, a software update can be carried out quickly from the cockpit, Airbus said.
An impairment of aircraft, as determined by Airbus, could occur if electrically charged particles emitted by the sun release radiation into the earth’s atmosphere, explains Barbara Perri, deputy astronomer at the University of Paris-Saclay, to the newspaper “Le Parisien”. Essentially, the particles are deflected by the atmosphere, which acts like a barrier. However, some would be re-emitted in the form of radiation that would penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere. The radiation could then be absorbed by aircraft, which could disrupt their electronic systems and generate interference signals.
Pope planes also affected
The plane on which Pope Leo XIV is traveling on his first trip abroad was also affected by the necessary software update. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that a necessary component for the update of the machine was on the way to Istanbul, Turkey, along with a technician who was supposed to install it.
The pontiff flew on Thursday in an Airbus A320neo aircraft operated by the Italian airline Ita from Rome to the Turkish capital Ankara and then on to Istanbul. After the Turkey part of his trip, the onward flight to Lebanon is planned for Sunday afternoon. According to the Vatican, the component to be replaced is a monitor.
Airbus has informed Ita – like all other airlines – that this operation must be carried out on all relevant aircraft by midnight at the latest, otherwise they will not be allowed to fly, the Vatican said.
/evs/DP/he
TOULOUSE/FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)
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