(Nov 29): Airlines across the world cancelled hundreds of flights and raced to adjust their schedules, as a major Airbus SE software glitch forced the plane-maker into a sweeping recall that threatened to roil a crucial holiday travel season.
More than 6,000 jets in total — more than half of those in service — may be impacted by the required fix, the European manufacturer said late on Friday. A directive from Europe’s aviation safety regulator said software upgrades must happen before the affected aircraft’s next regular flights.
Airlines rushed to implement the updates for affected A320 jetliners, temporarily grounding flights and upending plans for thousands of travellers, in a rare global flaw of Airbus’ top-selling jet. The A320 is the most-delivered commercial airliner in history, meaning any disruption will ripple across the globe, with carriers from New Zealand to India to Latin American pushed to act or face painful groundings.
The urgent software fix, issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency late on Friday, came after a recent incident involving a JetBlue Airways Corp jetliner showed that “intense solar radiation” could corrupt data that helps maintain functioning flight controls. Depending on the age of the aircraft, updates are either a hassle-free download, or they require a more cumbersome change of hardware.
“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” the manufacturer said.
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The finding is a significant headache for Airbus, given the A320 family is the company’s by-far most widely flown aircraft, with more than 11,000 in operation. The sudden upgrade requirement was unwelcome news for airlines as well, especially those dependent on Airbus as their sole fleet provider.
Airlines and travellers have already had to contend with disruptions caused by bad weather and the recent government shutdown that prompted a partial reduction in aircraft movement. FlightAware, which tracks delays and cancelations, showed 452 flights, or 20%, of flights delayed on Saturday at China Southern Airlines Co. EasyJet plc had 323 flights, or 21%, disrupted as of 12pm Hong Kong time.
In the US, which is experiencing a record-breaking Thanksgiving travel period, operators of some 1,600 A320 family jets sought to implement fixes while keeping disruption to a minimum. The Federal Aviation Administration said its emergency airworthiness directive, which mirrored that of European regulators, affects approximately 545 US-registered airplanes.
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American Airlines Group Inc said that of its 209 impacted planes, fewer than 150 still required the update as of 6pm US Central Standard time on Friday. Indian carrier Indigo, which has placed a massive order for A320 planes, said a total of 200 aircraft required a check, and that 160 jets have been completed by midday local time on Saturday, with no flight cancellations.
Colombia’s Avianca SA said more than 70% of its fleet was impacted and that it was halting ticket sales until Dec 8. Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc scrapped 95 flights on Saturday, affecting roughly 13,200 passengers.
The advisory follows an unnerving incident on Oct 30 involving a JetBlue plane flying from Cancun to Newark, New Jersey, that suffered a computer glitch, resulting in a sudden unexpected downward pitch without pilot input. Nobody was injured, and the jet diverted to Tampa, Florida. An investigation revealed that one of the plane’s elevator-aileron computers — known as ELAC 2 — malfunctioned.
“Preliminary technical assessment done by Airbus identified a malfunction of the affected ELAC as a possible contributing factor,” the European flight safety regulator said. “This condition, if not corrected, could lead in the worst-case scenario to an uncommanded elevator movement that may result in exceeding the aircraft’s structural capability.”
According to people familiar with the situation, most of the jets can receive an uncomplicated update from the cockpit with minimal downtime. But about 1,000 older jets will need an actual hardware upgrade and will have to be grounded for the duration of the maintenance, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing non-public findings.
Hungarian discount carrier Wizz Air Holdings plc, which has an Airbus-only fleet of about 250 aircraft, said it had successfully implemented the upgrades on all affected Airbus A320 family aircraft overnight, and that flight operations are back to normal.
Services were cancelled in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday, causing travel disruption, as Qantas Airways Ltd subsidiary Jetstar and Air New Zealand Ltd grounded some of their A320s for the software upgrade.
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The UK Civil Aviation Authority said that airlines flying the affected aircraft will in some cases have to change software over the days ahead or remain on the ground from Sunday, though only some UK airlines are affected. British Airways plc, the biggest carrier in the UK with a fleet of almost 150 A320 family jets, won’t experience any passenger impact, the regulator said.
The A320 competes with Boeing Co’s 737 model, and the two jetliner families are the workhorses of the civil aviation industry. Airbus has already had to absorb engine issues on its newer A320neo jets, powered by Pratt & Whitney, that have forced hundreds of jets to be taken out of service temporarily for maintenance.
The A320 is flown using so-called fly-by-wire technology, which relies on electronic input rather than hydraulic mechanisms. The ELAC system, whose hardware is made by France’s Thales SA, helps manage critical flight parameters such as stabiliser trip and ensures the aircraft remains within its prescribed flight envelope by preventing excessive or accidental inputs.
Airbus introduced the aircraft in question in the late 1980s, and its wild success made the European plane-maker No 1 globally, leapfrogging Boeing. The A320 family today includes the smaller A319 model, the classic A320 and the larger and increasingly popular A321. Airbus put new, more fuel-efficient engines on the airline about a decade ago, the so-called new engine option, or neo.
The fix announced includes both A320neo and the classic, older A320 family, Airbus said.
On-board software is increasingly critical to stable flight in modern aircraft, though a malfunctioning system can have catastrophic consequences. Boeing suffered two crashes in rapid succession a few years ago involving its latest 737 Max aircraft after a software system called MCAS malfunctioned in flight.
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