Domestic carriers Air India and IndiGo have announced potential delays and schedule adjustments in several routes following a technical directive issued by Airbus for its global A320 family fleet.
Airbus on Friday said intense solar radiation might corrupt data critical to flight controls in a significant number of A320 aircraft and that a software change is required to fix the issue.
"We are aware of a directive from Airbus related to its A320 family aircraft currently in service across airline operators. This will result in a software/hardware realignment on a part of our fleet, leading to longer turnaround time and delays to our scheduled operations," Air India said in a post on X.
In a similar statement, IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, said it was working closely with Airbus to ensure implementation of the changes.
"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," it said.
Air India Express said in a statement that it has initiated immediate precautionary action in response to an alert requiring a software fix for its 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,” it said.
Though the airlines did not reveal the exact number of aircraft that could be impacted, PTI quoted sources as saying that Indian operators have about 560 A320 family flights, and 200-250 of them will need software changes or hardware realignment.
According to a Reuters report, Airbus has ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely used A320 jets globally. In a bulletin to the airlines, the company said the fix mainly involves reverting to earlier software, but it must be done before the planes can fly again.
American Airlines, the world's largest A320 operator, said some 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft would need the fix.