Airline travellers face disruption after Airbus warns A320 jets need software fix

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Airbus has warned that a “significant” number of its best-selling A320 family aircraft require an immediate software update to fix potential problems caused by solar radiation, in a move likely to lead to aviation disruptions around the world.

About 6,000 planes, or about half the global fleet in service, could be affected, according to people familiar with the situation. Although most planes can undergo an uncomplicated software update before their next flight, about 900 of the affected planes will require a hardware update that could take longer and require grounding, the people said.

Airbus said on Friday that analysis of the latest incident revealed that “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the operation of flight control devices.”

The European planemaker admitted that the move “will lead to operational disruptions for passengers and customers.”

The scale of the operation could significantly disrupt travel for millions of passengers scheduled to fly on the A320, the world’s most popular short-haul aircraft, operated by airlines including EasyJet, Lufthansa, Wizz Air, American Airlines and United Airlines. It comes ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends in the United States after the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

American Airlines said about 340 of its fleet of 480 A320 aircraft needed to replace the software. The American airline said it expects to complete the “vast majority” of the updates “today and tomorrow,” adding that for many aircraft, the software update will take “about two hours.”

“Although we expect some delays as these updates are completed, we are laser-focused on reducing cancellations – especially as customers return home from holiday travel,” American added.

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air confirmed that some of its aircraft were among those needing the software update and warned that “some flights over the weekend may be affected.”

EasyJet, whose entire fleet is made up of Airbus aircraft, said it expects the measure to cause “some disruption”, adding that it will do “everything we can to minimize the impact” on its customers.

Lufthansa also warned of “a small number of flight cancellations or delays over the weekend.” The German airline group said it had already scheduled the necessary maintenance to ensure “full compliance with the specified mitigation measures.”

Airbus’ decision follows an incident on October 30 involving a JetBlue plane flying from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey. The plane suffered a computer glitch that led to a sudden drop in altitude and forced the crew to make an emergency landing in Florida.

Airbus said in its statement that it had requested a so-called “operator alert transfer” to implement the repairs. In an emergency airworthiness directive issued on Friday, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said the measures “may cause short-term disruption to flight schedules and thus inconvenience to passengers.”

The regulator’s guidance requires airlines to implement the fix before the next flight. The US Federal Aviation Administration is expected to issue its own version later on Friday.

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority also said on Friday that the measure would likely lead to “some disruption and cancellation of flights.”

Heidi Alexander, UK Transport Secretary, said: “Passengers due to travel this weekend should check with their carriers for the latest information.

“The impact on UK airlines appears to be limited with fewer aircraft requiring more complex software and hardware changes.”

Additional reporting by Jim Pickard

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