Thousands of Airbus aircraft have resumed normal operations after being temporarily grounded due to concerns that solar radiation could disrupt onboard flight control systems. Approximately 6,000 A320 planes were implicated, with most requiring a software update, while around 900 older models necessitated a complete computer replacement.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot reported that the software updates were successful for over 5,000 planes. Airbus informed him that fewer than 100 aircraft still needed updates. Tabarot noted that the updates had been largely completed overnight.
On Saturday, Air France faced some disruptions, with delays and cancellations reported for multiple flights at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. Although flight delays were minor in France, complexities arose in other countries, particularly the U.S., where the issue coincided with the Thanksgiving travel period. American Airlines indicated that 340 of its planes were affected but anticipated manageable operational delays, while Delta Airlines expected limited impacts.
In the UK, airport disruptions were minimal. Gatwick Airport reported some issues, but Heathrow experienced no cancellations. British Airways and Air India were reportedly not significantly affected. Easyjet stated it had updated a significant portion of its fleet and planned to operate normally, while Wizz Air also confirmed it was functioning as scheduled after completing its updates.
In Australia, budget airline Jetstar canceled 90 flights, stating that around a third of its fleet was impacted by the issue, with disruptions expected to last throughout the weekend even as updates were rolled out for most aircraft.
The issue was initially identified following an incident involving a JetBlue Airways flight that lost altitude and made an emergency landing in October, injuring at least 15 passengers. Airbus determined that the computer software responsible for assessing a plane’s altitude was susceptible to corruption from solar radiation at high altitudes. Both the A320 family and additional models, including the A318, A319, and A321, were affected. The timeline for resolving the issues for older models depends on the availability of necessary replacement computers.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gp9d28p74o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss