Airbus has warned of global travel disruptions as it works to upgrade software on roughly 6,000 in-service A320 aircraft following a JetBlue incident last month. The company urged airlines to take “immediate precautionary action” after determining that intense solar radiation can corrupt flight-control data.
While most aircraft will receive the software fix within a few hours, around 1,000 planes could require weeks to update. The faulty component, the ELAC computer produced by Thales, is central to the aircraft’s control systems.
Airbus acknowledged that the updates may cause operational disruptions and apologised for the impact on passengers. The warning follows an October 30 incident in which a JetBlue A320 suddenly nosedived due to a computer malfunction, injuring several passengers. Air France and others immediately cut their flight schedules.
Airbus A320