Passengers have been warned of disruption after thousands of Airbus planes were found to require an urgent software update last night.
The European aerospace company said that passengers could face ‘operational disruption’ owing to the need for an urgent software update on some A320 aircraft.
Airlines have been advised the fix involves a revert to a previous software version, taking approximately three to four hours.
While many companies have worked on planes overnight, some have warned passengers could be disrupted as the work continues.
It comes after an aircraft in that line made an emergency landing last month after experiencing a sudden drop in altitude.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the impact of the ruling on UK airlines should be ‘limited’.
She said last night: ‘I am aware of the technical issue impacting certain aircraft and concerns over how this will affect passengers and flights this evening,” she said.
‘Passengers who are due to fly this weekend should check with their carriers for the latest information.
‘The good news is it seems the impact on UK airlines seems limited, with a smaller number of aircraft requiring more complex software and hardware changes.’
In a statement issued to airlines, Airbus said that solar radiation had been found to interfere with software and corrupt critical data.
A message from the manufacturer’s headquarters in Toulouse last night read: ‘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.
‘Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted.
‘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).
‘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.’
Airbus is one of the world’s two major aerospace companies, along with its American competitor Boeing.
The A320 is one of the world’s most popular short-haul planes, with more than 6,000 currently in service around the globe.
What are airlines saying?
UK airlines with large fleets of A320 aircraft include EasyJet and British Airways.
EasyJet said it was operating a full schedule and had already completed the update on many of its planes, while advising passengers to check its flight track tool for up-to-date information.
The low cost carrier said in a statement: ‘We are aware of Airbus’ communication to airlines operating A320 family aircraft and are currently working closely with the safety authorities and Airbus to implement the action we need to take.
‘As we are expecting this to result in some disruption, we will inform customers directly about any changes to our flying programme tomorrow and will do all possible to minimise the impact.
‘Safety is our highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturers guidelines.’
A source from BA told Metro that just three aircraft in its fleet required the update, which had been installed by engineers overnight with no disruption to services.
Wizzair said that some of its services may be disrupted while it carries out the necessary maintenance on some of its fleet.
A spokesperson said: ‘Wizz Air confirms that some of its aircraft are among the more than 6,500 Airbus A320 family aircraft worldwide that require a software update, as recently identified by the aircraft manufacturer.
‘Wizz Air has already immediately scheduled the necessary maintenance to ensure full compliance with the identified mitigation.
‘As a result, some flights over the weekend may be affected.
‘Passengers who booked directly with Wizz Air via the website or mobile app will be notified of any schedule changes.
‘The safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft is always our number one and overriding priority.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience caused by circumstances outside of our direct control.’
Over the Channel the news was less positive, as Air France was forced to pull 41 of its single aisle aircraft.
The French flag carrier said that there would be a ‘gradual return to normal’ on Saturday and expected all passengers would reach their destinations.
Why has the warning been issued?
The latest advisory to airlines is thought to relate to an incident on a JetBlue aircraft last month which made a sudden descent while at cruising altitude.
Fifteen people were injured in the plunge, which caused the flight from Mexico to divert to Tampa, Florida.
Travel journalist Simon Calder explained that Airbus had since concluded that solar flares could corrupt onboard data and affect the structure of the aircraft.
‘There’s been very extensive and technical assessment of what went wrong by the Federal Aviation Administration in the US as well as Airbus, because clearly you certainly do not want random events which cause the aircraft to lose altitude’, he told Sky News.
‘Even if it only takes a couple of hours to update the software to remove the problem, it could still lead to delays and cancellations.’
