Airbus issued a directive for a major software fix for its A320 fleet. Thousands of Airbus planes have been grounded after the company said that intense solar radiation could impact the functioning of flight controls. Many flyers from around the world have taken to social media to share their stories amid the glitch, including a man from Bhopal who says he is stuck at a Melbourne airport.
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“At Melbourne Airport waiting to board to Sydney and our flight is grounded because ALL AIRBUS A320 WORLD-BL***Y-WIDE have been suddenly grounded. This is not how I wanted to be part of aviation history,” techie Mayukh Nair wrote.
In the same thread, he added, “Update: looks like a software update is getting planes back up albeit with huge delays so they're reboarding flights one by one, slowly. Still waiting but hopefully my up-since-3-am addled mind will soon get to sleep.”
Nair later shared an update that the flight was ultimately cancelled after the passengers were stuck at the airport since early morning.
“Update: they've cancelled the flight. We've been stuck here since 4 am. Now everyone's in a queue that's snaking up to the service desk easily longer than 150 metres (I've zoomed to the end). Horrible weekend for both passengers and the aviation industry.”
Airbus' full statement on A320:
In a statement titled, “Airbus update on A320 Family precautionary fleet action,” the company wrote, “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted.”
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{{/usCountry}}In a statement titled, “Airbus update on A320 Family precautionary fleet action,” the company wrote, “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted.”
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{{/usCountry}}“Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly. This AOT will be reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),” the statement explained.
It continued, “Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”