American Airlines says 340 aircraft to get impacted as Airbus warns of travel disruption over A320 software issue

As Airbus on Saturday ordered that a large portion of its active A320 fleet would require an immediate software change, American Airlines said that it expects some operational delays, saying the issue impacts about 340 aircraft.

The airline said that they are ‘intently focused’ on limiting cancellations and expect that the vast majority of the updates to be completed by today or tomorrow, reported Reuters.

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said that some flights over the weekend may be affected as some of its aircraft were among those that required an Airbus software update.

In a statement, Airbus stated that analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

The company said a significant number of its A320 fleet may be impacted by the required fix.

“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”

Citing a source, AFP reported that replacing the software will take ‘a few hours’ on most planes but for some 1,000 aircraft, the process ‘will take weeks’.

Meanwhile, the British Civil Aviation Authority said it expects some disruptions to airlines and flights operating in the country.

“We have been made aware of an issue that may affect some of the A320 family of aircraft and the precautionary action that EASA has taken,” reported Reuters quoting Giancarlo Buono, director of aviation safety at the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Indian airlines said that some flights may be delayed.

Air India said it is aware of an Airbus directive related to its A320 family aircraft currently in-service across airline operators.

“This will result in a software/hardware realignment on a part of our fleet, leading to longer turnaround time and delays to our scheduled operations.”

IndiGo too said it is aware of a notification issued by Airbus.

“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.”