NEW DELHI: Air travel in India and around the world is expected to face major disruptions after Europe-based Airbus issued a technical directive ordering a software upgrade for its A320 family aircraft. In India, more than 300 IndiGo and Air India A320 planes will remain grounded for the next two to three days while the update is carried out, with normal operations expected to resume by Monday or Tuesday.
Globally, around 6,000 aircraft from A320 fleet are likely to be impacted. The grounding is notable as Airbus and its main rival Boeing together control over three-quarters of the world’s commercial aircraft fleet,meaning any large-scale recall has an immediate and widespread impact on global air traffic.
10 things to know about the Airbus A320 recall
* Airbus has ordered immediate repairs for around 6,000 A320-family aircraft, a move that is expected to affect more than half of the global fleet. This large-scale recall may cause widespread disruption, especially in the United States, where it coincides with one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
* Airbus has revealed that a recent incident involving one of its A320-family aircraft has uncovered a potential risk linked to “intense solar radiation”, which may corrupt data essential for the aircraft’s flight-control systems. Following this finding, the company identified a significant number of A320 aircraft currently in service that could be affected by the issue.
* Air india has acknowledged the directive, saying it is “aware of a directive
JetBlue Incident Leads to Probe
The technical directive reportedly came shortly after an incident involving a JetBlue A320 aircraft, which led to discussions among safety regulators and eventually contributed to a deeper review of the fleet’s software configuration. While details are still emerging, the episode is believed to have triggered closer scrutiny and may have played a role in Airbus deciding to issue a global advisory and recall order for immediate corrective action.