KARACHI – Airbus, the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe, has urged all airlines operating A320 aircraft to take immediate precautionary measures after identifying a software glitch, saying it could cause operational disruptions to passengers and customers.
The company recalled the Airbus A320 planes for software update after an aircraft witnessed a sudden altitude drop during a flight.
In an official statement, 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.
“Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly”.
This AOT will be reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority,” it concluded.
The operational disruptions are also likely to hit passengers in Pakistan where A320 aircraft are used by several local airlines including the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Air Sial and Air Blue.
It is recalled that the PIA had inducted its 11th Airbus 320 AP-BOM into its fleet wit new engines in 2024.
