Airbus, one of the biggest aircraft makers globally, has issued a major warning that the company said will likely ground many passenger jets worldwide.
Airbus has warned of potential travel disruption as it upgrades some 6,000 operational A320 aircraft, after an incident on a JetBlue flight last month.
In Australia, Jetstar has confirmed its flights will be affected.
“Due to an issue affecting Airbus A320 operators globally, some of Jetstar’s Airbus-operated flights are unable to depart at this stage.
“We’re working through the impacts on our fleet and to our customers. We’ll have more information shortly.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”
It’s understood there is no impact to Qantas aircraft.
Airbus on Friday instructed its clients to take “immediate precautionary action” after evaluating the incident.
“Intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” Airbus stated, adding that “a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service” may be affected.
Replacing the software will take “a few hours” on most planes but for some 1,000 aircraft, the process “will take weeks”, a source close to the issue told AFP.
The faulty software, the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), is made by aerospace and defence giant Thales.
“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” it said, apologising for the inconvenience.
On October 30, a JetBlue-operated A320 aircraft encountered an in-flight control issue due to a computer malfunction.
The plane suddenly nosedived as it travelled between Cancun in Mexico and Newark in the United States, and pilots had to land in Tampa, Florida.
US media quoted local firefighters saying that some passengers were injured. Produced since 1988, the A320 is the best-selling plane globally, with Airbus selling 12,257 of the aircraft by the end of September compared to the sale of 12,254 Boeing 737s.
— more to come
