Fewer than 100 aircraft remain out of service as airlines complete software updates and hardware modifications following safety alert
The vast majority of Airbus A320 and A320neo family aircraft are now back in the sky after they were grounded on 28 November, after it was found that solar radiation could affect flight software.
In an update this morning, Airbus said that fewer than 100 out of 6,000 aircraft were still being worked on. The issue on most affected aircraft could be resolved with a software update but some require new hardware to be installed.
“We are working with our airline customers to support the modification of less than 100 remaining aircraft to ensure they can be returned to service,” Airbus said.
There are conversion programmes for both the Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. It appears most of these aircraft have flown since Airbus issued a safety alert on Friday.
Airlines that operate converted A320 family aircraft include: Lufthansa Cargo, Titan Airways, GlobalX, BBN Airlines, Raya Airways, CAA, FlyVaayu, Pradhaan Air Express and SkyVision Airlines.
The safety alert was issued after a JetBlue Airways A320 experienced an “uncontrolled descent” for around 4-5 seconds during a flight from Cancun to Newark.
Airbus said that its analysis of the situation revealed that “intense” solar radiation “may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls”.
It said operators are being alerted regarding the need to implement software or hardware protection to “ensure the fleet is safe to fly”.
The urgent measures were ordered by safety regulators, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and US FAA.
