Airbus travel chaos: 13 things you need to know after major flight disruption – The Mirror
Thousands of Airbus planes have been forced to update their software following an incident that left 15 passengers injured – several UK airlines have shared whether their flights have been impacted
Thousands of Airbus A320 planes will be forced to undergo an update (pictured: Gatwick Airport)(Image: PA)
What you need to know about the Airbus A320 travel disruption:
A software issue on the A320 family of Airbus aircrafts has led to the aviation giant enforcing a system update before some their planes can fly again.
More than 6,500 Airbus A320 family aircrafts worldwide require a software update.
This update came after the aerospace company found that intense radiation from the sun could corrupt data on these planes that were crucial to flight controls.
Airbus said the fix would involve reverting the A320 software to an earlier version while stressing this process would only take two to three hours for most planes.
It comes after at least 15 JetBlue passengers were injured last month after an A320 aircraft suddenly dropped in altitude, forcing an emergency landing in Florida.
That plane had experienced a “flight control issue” which could have been linked to its software system.
Not all A320 planes will require a software update but several UK airlines have said these aircraft in their fleet and could be impacted, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said.
The EASA warned travellers: “The requirement will mean the airlines flying these aircraft will in some cases have to change software over the days ahead or remain on the ground from Sunday onwards until the software has been changed. This action is likely to mean that unfortunately there may be some disruption and cancellations to flights.”
Wizz Air has warned passengers that they could face disruption over the weekend due to the update, saying: “Wizz Air has already immediately scheduled the necessary maintenance to ensure full compliance with the identified mitigation.”
EasyJet indicated in a statement there may be changes to their flying schedule as a result of the update, in which case passengers will be informed.
Passengers flying with British Airways should not face any significant disruption as only three of their aircraft require the update, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed.
Jet2.com said it was “installing software updates on a very small number of aircraft” in its fleet, adding: “We can confirm there will be no impact to our flying programme as a result.”
Gatwick Airport also warned passengers may face some disruption over the coming days but a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said it is not expecting any disruption to its flight schedule at this stage.
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