There is a possibility that several flights, including prominent airlines Air India, IndiGo, and Air India Express, operating Airbus A320S, are facing widespread flight disruptions after Airbus warned that intense solar radiation could corrupt data used by flight-control systems in A320 jets.
Nearly 200 to 250 aircraft in India need to update their software or hardware realignments, prompting airline companies to ground their flights as engineers carry out the fixes, as per PTI.
Airbus has issued a warning: "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)."
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Aibus said that they are currently analysing a recent A320 incident abroad, where the aircraft was briefly grounded due to a suspected malfunction in an Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC).
There are nearly 560 A320 family aircraft in India, according to India Today. IndiGo said on Saturday that it is aware of the notification issued by Airbus, the manufacturer of the majority of its fleet, regarding A320 family planes.
"Airbus has issued a technical advisory for the global A320 fleet. We are proactively completing the mandated updates on our aircraft with full diligence and care, in line with all safety protocols. While we work through these precautionary updates, some flights may see some slight schedule changes," said IndiGo in a post on X.
"Our teams are here 24×7 to support you with rebooking, updates, and information. Please check your latest flight status on our app/website before heading to the airport," X post reads.
Air confirmed about the software glitch and informed passengers of longer turnaround times and delays to scheduled operations. "Air India regrets any inconvenience this may cause to passengers till the reset is carried out across the fleet. We request customers to check their flight status at https://airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html before heading to the airport and connect with our contact centre at 011-69329333, 011-69329999 for any further assistance," Air India in post on X.