'
Here’s what we know about the Airbus A320 recall
International

Here’s what we know about the Airbus A320 recall

author
4 minutes, 33 seconds Read

Airbus is warning of potential travel disruptions due to upgrades to around 6,000 operational A320 aircraft, impacting travelers in Australia and around the world.
The European aircraft maker has ordered its customers to take “immediate precautionary measures” following a review of a JetBlue-operated A320 aircraft incident on October 30.
In Australia, Jetstar’s chief pilot Tyrone Simes has confirmed that the airline’s flights have been affected and they expect “further disruptions today and likely minor disruptions tomorrow”.
“The engineering team can change the software state of that computer on board the aircraft, so they have to physically get on board and do that process,” he said at a press conference at Melbourne Airport on Saturday, adding that the process will take two to three hours.

“We have about 90 flights affected. And of course that’s just Jetstar. But it’s important to note that it’s a global problem.

Airbus has recalled thousands of A320 aircraft after the company identified a software problem that could cause operational disruptions. Source: Getty / James D Morgan

He said that while they have 85 aircraft, 34 of the A320 aircraft have had this “anomaly identified”.

“Anything to do with the flight control system is a serious matter, and we take it very seriously,” Simes said.

Jetstar planes ‘ready to return’

On Saturday afternoon, a Jetstar spokesperson said the changes have already been implemented on some of their planes.

“As of 3:30 p.m., 20 of the 34 affected aircraft are ready to return to service. We expect the remainder to be ready overnight so that flights can resume as planned on Sunday, November 30,” they said in a statement.

“However, there may be some buzz on delays or cancellations on Sunday as the network fully recovers. We will contact customers by text and email if there are any further disruptions.
“Safety is our number one priority and we sincerely thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we resolve this issue.”
SBS News understands that Virgin Australia operates four A320s in its Virgin Australia Regional Airline business, based in Western Australia, and that the airline is capable of operating the small number of flights that A320s would have flown.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson told SBS News they “do not anticipate any impact on Virgin Australia or our regional aviation operations”.

SBS News understands that the recall will not affect flights operated by Qantas.

Worldwide flights affected

The impact is not just limited to Australia, as airlines from the United States to South America, Europe, India and New Zealand have warned that the repairs could potentially cause flight delays or cancellations.
Air New Zealand has said they have been “affected by a global software issue affecting Airbus A320neo aircraft” and that all their “A320neo aircraft will receive a software update before operating their next passenger service.”
“This will result in disruption to a number of our A320neo flights today and we expect a number of service cancellations across that fleet,” the airline wrote on X.

There are approximately 11,300 A320 family aircraft in service, including 6,440 of the core A320 model, which first flew in 1987. Four of the ten largest A320 family operators in the world are major US airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines.

The world’s largest A320 operator, American Airlines, has said about 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft require the solution. It said it mainly expected these to be completed by Saturday, with each plane taking about two hours.
ANA Holdings, Japan’s largest airline, canceled 65 flights on Saturday after the Airbus A320 recall forced it to ground some planes.
Other airlines said they would briefly take planes out of service to make the repairs, including Germany’s Lufthansa and India’s IndiGo.
Britain’s easyJet said it had already completed the work.
Colombian airline Avianca said the recall affected more than 70 percent of its fleet, about 100 aircraft, causing significant disruptions over the next 10 days and prompting the airline to close ticket sales for travel dates through December 8.

For about two-thirds of affected planes, the recall will theoretically result in a brief grounding as airlines revert to an earlier software version, industry sources told Reuters.

What is the reason behind the recall?

The setback appears to be one of the largest recalls in Airbus’ 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most delivered model.
Airbus said in a statement that “intense solar radiation may compromise data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” adding that “a significant number of A320 family aircraft currently in service” could be affected.
Replacing the software will take “a few hours” on most aircraft, but for around 1,000 aircraft the process will take “weeks”, a source close to the matter told news agency Agence France-Presse.
The defective software, the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), was created by aerospace and defense giant Thales.

“Airbus recognizes that these recommendations will result in operational disruptions for passengers and customers,” the company said, apologizing for the inconvenience.

The JetBlue incident

The major recall follows an incident involving a Jetblue-operated A320 aircraft on October 30, which experienced a flight control problem due to a computer glitch.
The plane suddenly nosedived while traveling between Cancun, Mexico, and Newark, United States, and pilots had to land in Tampa, Florida.
US media quoted local firefighters as saying some passengers were injured.
Produced since 1988, the A320 is the best-selling aircraft worldwide; Airbus sold 12,257 units of the aircraft at the end of September, compared to sales of 12,254 Boeing 737s.
— Additional reporting by Reuters.

#Heres #Airbus #A320 #recall

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *