No SKY express aircraft belongs to the 6,000 Airbus planes requiring software upgrades, flights are operating normally with no impact.
Read: Airbus: Immediate software replacement after flight incident – 6,000 aircraft affected
It should be noted that approximately 6,000 Airbus A320 aircraft urgently need to proceed with control software replacement, which proved vulnerable to solar radiation, following an “incident” that occurred in late October in the US on a JetBlue aircraft, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the European aerospace company. Airbus informed today (28/11) all companies using the specific software to “immediately suspend flights,” as technical analysis showed that intense solar radiation can corrupt critical flight control system data.
Airbus directive affects approximately 6,000 aircraft
The manufacturer announced that the need for immediate software changes concerns a large portion of its most popular models, the A320s, and according to aviation industry sources, the directive affects approximately 6,000 aircraft, more than half the global fleet.
According to Airbus, the recent incident revealed that intense solar radiation can cause corruption of critical data related to control system operations. “The company recognizes that these directives will cause operational disruptions for passengers and customers,” it characteristically notes.
As Reuters reports, airlines affected by the extensive A320 recall must complete the required work before their next flight, except for any repositioning flights to maintenance centers. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will issue an emergency airworthiness directive, according to Airbus.
For approximately two-thirds of the aircraft affected by the measure, the recall will result in a relatively short grounding, as airlines will revert to a previous software version, according to industry sources.
However, the scale of the operation is expected to cause significant disruption, as this issue arises just before the weekend when the most travel of the year takes place in the United States.
Flight from Cancun triggered the major repair operation
The incident that triggered this major repair operation involved a JetBlue Airways aircraft operating a flight from Cancun, Mexico to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on October 30. Flight 1230 made an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida. Several people were taken to the hospital as the Airbus A320 suddenly lost altitude following a flight control problem.
According to Airbus data, there are approximately 11,300 A320 family aircraft in operation, of which 6,440 are the basic A320 model
