As Airbus ordered on Saturday that much of its active A320 fleet would require an immediate software change, American Airlines said it expected some operational delays, with the problem affecting about 340 planes.
The airline said they were “deliberately focusing” on limiting cancellations and expected the vast majority of updates to be completed today or tomorrow, Reuters reported.
A Wizz Air spokesman said some flights over the weekend may be affected because some of its aircraft were among those requiring an Airbus software update.
In a statement, Airbus said analysis of a recent incident involving an A320 family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation could damage data critical to the operation of flight controls.
The company said the requested fix could affect a significant number of its A320 fleet.
“Airbus recognizes that these recommendations will result in disruption to passenger and customer services. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”
Citing a source, AFP said the software replacement would take “a few hours” for most planes, but that the process “will take weeks” for around 1,000 planes.
Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority, meanwhile, said it expected some disruption to airlines and flights operating in the country.
“We have been made aware of an issue that may affect some A320 family aircraft and the precautionary measures EASA has taken,” Reuters quoted Giancarlo Buon, director of aviation safety at Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority, as saying.
Indian Airlines said some flights may be delayed.
Air India said it is aware of the Airbus directive regarding its A320 family aircraft currently in service with airline operators.
“This will result in software/hardware changes to parts of our fleet, resulting in longer turnaround times and delays in our scheduled operations.”
IndiGo also said it is aware of the notice issued by Airbus.
“We are proactively completing mandatory updates on our aircraft with full care and attention, following all safety protocols. While we work on these preventative updates, some flights may experience slight schedule changes.”
