Airbus concluded the software update on approximately 6,000 A320 family aircraft early, avoiding the risk of massive flight cancellations over the weekend. The intervention, imposed by the aeronautical authorities after the sudden loss of altitude recorded on a JetBlue flight on October 30 – an accident that caused injuries among passengers – resulted in short ground stops for most of the aircraft involved. Despite the relatively short duration of the operations, between 2 and 3 hours per aircraft, the impact on air traffic was significant. In the United States JetBlue canceled dozens of flights on Sunday, while in Japan the company ANA canceled 95 connections on Saturday, impacting over 13,500 passengers. The critical moment arrived in the middle of the Thanksgiving weekend, further exacerbating the inconveniences.
The update involved installing an older version of the software, believed to be more reliable while engineers investigate the causes of the accident. According to Airbus, strong exposure to sunlight may have altered crucial flight control data.
Around 11,300 A320 family aircraft are currently in operation, including 6,440 of the basic model: a series that recently surpassed the Boeing 737 to become the best-selling commercial aircraft in the world.
