Airbus A320 software issue: IndiGo, Air India finish majority of mandated upgrades

IndiGo has completed the mandatory Airbus software upgrade on all 200 of its A320-family aircraft, while Air India has finished updates on over 90 per cent of its fleet. The directive from EASA affected global flight operations, including 338 flights in India.

New Delhi: As global flight operations disrupted due to a software issue in the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, IndiGo said it has completed the update on the mandatory Airbus system enhancement across its A320-family fleet.

All 200 aircraft have now been fully updated and compliant as required, said the Indian carrier.

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“This programme involved a carefully coordinated sequence of work, with our engineering and operations teams ensuring each aircraft was updated with mandated system upgrade while maintaining stable operations across the network. Their effort helped us carry out a fleet-wide upgrade with minimal impact on customers’ journeys and zero cancellations,” said the airline in its latest statement.

With the completion of this technical requirement, every aircraft now operates with the latest approved configuration, and “we continue to monitor performance closely as part of our routine safety procedures”.

The issue emerged after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered a global software upgrade for all Airbus A320 aircraft.

Air India said it has successfully completed the reset on over 90 per cent of its operating A320 family aircraft that were impacted by EASA and Airbus’ requirement for a software realignment.

“We expect to cover the entire fleet within the timeline prescribed by EASA, with safety remaining our top priority. Rising to the occasion, our engineering and ground colleagues worked round the clock to ensure there were no cancellations and that the impact on our schedule integrity across the network was minimal,” said Air India in a statement.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier said a total of 338 flights in India have been affected by the problem.

The update is needed in the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), a crucial part of the aircraft’s flight control system. EASA identified the “ELAC B L104” units as the source of the vulnerability, leading to the worldwide directive that impacted nearly 6,000 flights.

The DGCA said it was closely monitoring the situation to ensure smooth operations across the country’s airports.

—IANS

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