New Delhi: Flight operations across the country are likely to be affected as major airlines, including IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express, address a possible issue related to flight controls in their Airbus A320 family aircraft.
Airbus issued a notice after 15 passengers on a JetBlue-operated Airbus A320 flight from Mexico were injured due to a sudden drop in altitude earlier this month. The flight had to make an emergency landing in Florida.
Officials confirmed Airbus SE has warned that over half its active A320 jetliner family fleet would need to implement a software fix. Indian operators have around 560 A320 family aircraft and over 200 of them would require software changes or hardware adjustments.
As many planes belonging to the A320 family aircraft in India and across the world undergo software changes or hardware adjustments, in some cases, operational disruptions are expected since they have to be grounded. Notably, the A320 family includes A319s, A320 ceos and neos, and A321 ceos and neos.
Several airlines have issued statements to notify passengers of possible delays. On Saturday, IndiGo announced that it was aware of a notice by Airbus regarding the A320 family aircraft.
“We are working closely with Airbus to ensure implementation as per Airbus notification. While we carry out the necessary inspections, we are making every effort to minimise disruptions,” IndiGo said in a statement.
“We have initiated immediate precautionary action in response to an alert requiring a software fix on the Airbus A320 fleet. While a majority of our aircraft are not impacted, the guidance applies to operators worldwide and may result in adjustments to flight operations, including potential delays or cancellations,” Air India Express said.
Air India also said that it was aware of the directive and warned passengers of longer turnaround time and possible delays.
“This will result in a software or hardware realignment on a part of our fleet, leading to longer turnaround time and delays to our scheduled operations,” the airline said in a statement.
