Airbus’ top manager guaranteed that the company’s teams “work tirelessly to support operators and implement updates as quickly as possiblein order to put the planes into service and restore normal operation, with the level of safety expected from Airbus.”
The problem was revealed following a control systems failure during a flight of the North American airline JetBlue between Cancún and Newark, New Jerseyon October 30th, which suffered a sudden drop in altitude that forced the pilots to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.
Expert analysis revealed that the The problem arose from strong exposure of the systems to solar radiation, at an intensity that had not been tested until now.which led Airbus to introduce these modifications.
More than 6,000 planes, half of the A320s, the best-selling plane in the history of commercial aviation, were affected by this problemalthough most only needed a computer update to maintain security standards.
Initially, Airbus indicated that 1,000 aircraft needed deeper maintenance, which could keep them grounded for a few weeks, but French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot indicated that, after all, this intervention will only affect a hundred.
As a result, Hundreds of flights were canceled on Friday, although airlines were mostly able to accommodate affected passengers on other flights, limiting the real impact.
The intervention caused some cancellations and delays in Europe, but the impact was greater in Asia and America, according to the different airlines.
The majority indicated that they quickly carried out the IT update recommended by Airbus.
In France, Air France canceled 35 flights on Friday and plans to cancel another 20 today, but without any passenger being unable to reach their destination throughout the day, when the situation is expected to return to normal.
Germany’s Lufthansa also updated its plane systems overnight and does not anticipate any cancellations, although it does not rule out delays to its flights.
Portuguese TAP, British Easyjet, Belgian Brussels Airlines and Swiss Swiss also reported a limited impact, not canceling any flightsas well as the Spanish Iberia, whose technicians worked all night to carry out the necessary updates.
Outside Europe, the impact was greater. Japan’s ANA canceled 65 flights, Australia’s JenStar one hundred, Philippines’ PAL and Cebu Pacific 80 and Mexico’s Volaris did not specify the number, but announced suspensions and delays until Sunday.
The Colombian company Avianca, with a strong presence in several Latin American countries, indicated that 70% of its fleet should undergo update operations, which would cause “significant disruptions” to its flights, without giving further details.
Airline teams are working hard in the United States to prevent operations from affecting their flights on a weekend that is especially complicated due to the large number of flights expected on the occasion of Thanksgiving.
The Airbus A320, which entered service in 1988, is the best-selling aircraft in the world. In September, Airbus dethroned the Boeing 737from the North American manufacturer Boeing, whose first unit was delivered in 1968.
At the end of September, Airbus had delivered 12,257 A320 planes (including business class versions), compared to 12,254 Boeing 737s.