 "Representational image. Reuters")
Plane manufacturer Airbus has announced the recall of 6,000 of its A320 fleet for immediate repair, affecting flight operations worldwide, including India.
While the fixes are simple which require moving back to an older version of the software, the company said that it is required before the planes can fly again, according to a report by Reuters.
The setback appears to be among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered model. At the time Airbus issued its bulletin to the plane’s more than 350 operators, some 3,000 A320-family jets were in the air.
Airlines like American Airlines and Wizz Air said that the repairs could cause flight delays and cancellations. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the main certifying authority of the A320 fleet, said that measures are “precautionary actions.”
Why have flights been recalled?
Airbus stated that a recent incident involving an A320-family aircraft showed that intense solar radiation can potentially corrupt data essential to the operation of the flight-control systems.
Industry sources said the incident that triggered the unexpected repair action involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, in which several passengers were hurt following a sharp loss of altitude.
That A320 jet made an emergency landing at Tampa, Florida, after a flight control problem and a sudden uncommanded drop in altitude, prompting a Federal Aviation Administration investigation. JetBlue and the FAA had no comment on the recall.
Flights affected
The temporary groundings for repairs for some airlines could be much longer since more than 1,000 of the affected jets may also have to have hardware changed, industry sources said.
The abrupt recall sent ripples around the world.
A Finnair flight was delayed almost an hour as pilots established which software version they had, a passenger said. Air New Zealand warned of a number of cancellations.
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View AllAir France said it was cancelling 35 flights, 5 per cent of the airline’s daily total. Mexico’s Volaris said it would be hit by delays or cancellations for up to 72 hours.
Indian budget carriers, including IndiGo and Air India, have issued travel advisories ahead of disruptions.
With inputs from Reuters