TAP may be forced to ground 29 planes from its medium-haul fleet as of midnight this Saturday, November 29, after Airbus determined the urgent update of software in six thousand aircraft from the A320 family, the model most used by the Portuguese air carrier.
“Airbus recognizes that these recommendations will cause operational disruption to passengers and customers”explained the company, in a statement.
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, keeping safety as our absolute and paramount priority”he added.
TAP, which has 29 A320 aircraft in a universe of 99 aircraft that ensure the majority of medium-haul connections, says it is monitoring the situation. “We are monitoring the situation, as always with the safety of our passengers and crew as our top priority”says the Portuguese carrier in a statement.
The measure will also have effects on the circulation of Azores Airlines planes.
ANA Aeroportos, cited by SICindicates that “it is in contact with airlines to find out the impact that this update of software will have on the flight schedule for the next few days”, advising passengers with flights scheduled to wait for information from each airline.
At issue is an incident related to intense solar radiation, which can corrupt data critical to the operation of flight control systems. Airbus, which builds and supplies these aircraft, warned of the urgent need to update the softwareadmitting that the operation, although relatively quick, will have a significant impact on the activity of numerous airlines.
For most aircraft, the update of software from the previous version will take “a few hours”. But for around a thousand aircraft, it will involve changing computer hardware, “which will take weeks”a source linked to the process revealed to France-Presse (AFP).
The French company acknowledged that the scale of the intervention is likely to cause disruption for both operators and passengers.
This decision was taken taking into account an episode that occurred on October 30, during a JetBlue flight between Cancún, Mexico, and Newark, near New York, when an aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.
Analysis of the incident “revealed that intense solar radiation can corrupt data essential for the operation of flight controls”, informed the European company. The incident involves a device – ELAC – Elevator Aileron Computer – manufactured by Thales.
This Airbus supplier clarified to AFP that it was not responsible for the problem: “The functionality in question is supported by a software which is not Thales’ responsibility”, he assured.
Airbus did not specify which company designed and updates this software.
The incident occurred during the cruise phase when, over the Gulf of Mexico, the aircraft suddenly tilted downwards without any intervention from the pilots.
The pilots began the descent and landed the aircraft. Tampa firefighters reported to US media that some passengers were injured.
JetBlue, contacted by AFP for comment on the incident, did not respond, while rival airline American Airlines indicated that it had already started updating its software navigation system after receiving the notification this Friday.
North American rival United Airlines also stated that it was not affected by the defect, without providing further details, although it operates several A320 aircraft.
Iberia, part of the IAG group, confirmed that it is working to make the “necessary changes” to its A320 aircraft safely and assured that Saturday’s operations will not be affected by this situation.
Iberia sources cited by the Efe agency confirmed that Airbus notified airlines that operate the A320 about the need to update the software part of the fleet, after detecting an incident in a flight control program caused by exposure to sunlight.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) indicated in a statement that it was informed of the situation by Airbus.
The Airbus A320, which entered service in 1988, is the best-selling aircraft in the world. In September, Airbus dethroned the Boeing 737, the single-aisle jet from North American manufacturer Boeing, the first unit of which was delivered in 1968.
At the end of September, Airbus had delivered 12,257 A320 planes (including business class versions), compared to 12,254 Boeing 737s.