US EditionAirbus A320 recall disrupts global travel after glitch linked to solar flares
Airbus ordered urgent software updates for 6,000 A320 jets worldwide after a JetBlue flight suffered a sudden altitude drop injuring 15 passengers, prompting a major safety recall.
- On Friday, November 28, Airbus ordered an immediate software change for 6,000 A320-family jets, prompting global groundings and causing cancellations and delays over the holiday weekend.
- The action followed an Oct. 30 JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark that suddenly dropped 30 metres, injuring 15 passengers and traced to ELAC flight‑control system errors caused by intense solar radiation.
- Airlines are applying fixes that mostly revert software, with American Airlines saying about 340 of 480 A320s require updates expected to finish by Saturday.
- Cancellations and delays spread worldwide after Airbus's notice, with ANA Holdings canceling 65 flights, Jetstar Airways around 90, and Scoot reporting 21 of 29 A320s affected by November 29.
- Analysts say the recall is one of Airbus's largest in 55 years and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and FAA have increased regulatory action amid strained Asia Pacific A320 networks and maintenance facilities.
112 Articles
112 Articles
Travel worries ease as Airbus delivers quick software fix
PARIS - Fears of days of travel chaos across the world eased on Saturday after the plane manufacturer Airbus intervened rapidly to deliver a software upgrade it had said was immediately needed on 6,000 of its stalwart A320 passenger jets.
Channel News Asia
Global airlines race to fix A320 jets after Airbus recall
PARIS: Global airlines scrambled on Saturday (Nov 29) to fix a software glitch on their Airbus A320 jets as a recall by the European planemaker temporarily grounded aircraft in Asia and Eu
Why 'extreme space weather' grounded Airbus flights
When JetBlue Flight 1230 suddenly lost altitude during its journey from Cancun, Mexico, to New Jersey in the US last month, passengers described a terrifying experience. There was no turbulence beforehand, the seatbelt signs had not been turned on, the flight had been going smoothly when the plane started to drop out of the sky without warning. “People literally flew into the air,” one passenger wrote in an account shared on Reddit. “A drink car…
Chicago Tribune
Boston HeraldBy AUDREY McAVOY Airlines around the world reported short-term disruptions early this weekend as they patched software on a widely used aircraft model after an analysis found that the computer code may have caused a JetBlue plane to suddenly drop in altitude last month. Airbus said Friday that an analysis of the JetBlue incident revealed that intense solar radiation could corrupt data critical to the operation of flight controls on the A320 fami…
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