TL;DR
- A software issue affecting thousands of Airbus A320 Family aircraft has been linked to malfunctioning flight controls due to intense solar radiation, prompting airlines to implement urgent updates.
- Affected airlines, including EasyJet and British Airways, are working to complete the required software changes, although some aircraft may experience longer delays due to hardware updates.
- Passengers may face potential travel disruptions, with several airlines indicating a limited impact and encouraging travellers to monitor flight statuses.
- It has not been confirmed if this glitch was caused by hack or any other malicious online attack.
Software issue hits thousands of Airbus planes – UK passengers warned of potential disruption | UK News
Airline passengers have been warned of potential travel disruption after thousands of Airbus planes were impacted by a software issue.
Airlines are racing to implement the required software update in order to return aircraft back into service and minimise disruption.
In a statement, plane-maker Airbus said: “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.
“Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted.”
Expect major delays at airports
EasyJet, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Indigo, Lufthansa, American Airlines, Delta, Air New Zealand, Flynas and Wizz Air were all affected by the issue – although the severity of the impact varies depending on the carrier.
It is understood the incident that triggered the software warning involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark on 30 October.
That flight was diverted to Florida’s Tampa International Airport after it suffered a flight control issue and experienced a sharp loss of altitude, which injured several passengers.
An Airbus spokesperson said that the necessary software change would affect up to 6,000 planes.
The fix involves A320 aircraft reverting to an earlier software update, with planes unable to fly passengers until this has been completed, according to a bulletin to airlines.
Airbus stressed that for most of the affected aircraft, the required software update would only take two to three hours. However, some aircraft would need new hardware to be able to adopt the required software and those aircraft would be affected for longer.