Global air travel is facing major disruption after aerospace giant Airbus issued an immediate recall of around 6,000 of its A320 family aircraft, which comprise almost half of the model’s global fleet.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an urgent directive stating that a recent incident prompted the “caution.”
According to research, intense solar radiation could corrupt critical data in flight control computers.
Industry sources identified the triggering event as an Oct. 30 JetBlue flight from Mexico to the United States, which experienced a sudden drop in altitude, injuring 15 passengers.
The recall involves reverting to a previous version of the software for the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC).
While the upgrade itself is fairly simple, it must be completed before each plane can return to service, forcing airlines around the world to ground their planes.
As an immediate consequence, American Airlines, the world’s largest A320 operator, said 340 of its 480 planes need the upgrade.
In Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) canceled 65 flights on Saturday, November 29.
The Colombian airline Avianca, with more than 70% of its fleet affected, stopped the sale of tickets for upcoming trips.
The timing coincides with the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the United States. However, the UK transport secretary said the impact on British airlines appeared “limited”. This recall marks one of the largest in Airbus’ 55-year history.
