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One of the world’s largest airplane makers said Friday that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight controls on a “significant number” of its most popular aircraft, prompting a swift response from several airlines.
Airbus attributed the revelation to a recent analysis involving its A320 family of aircraft.
The company said it is working with aviation authorities to implement software or hardware fixes to ensure its fleet is safe to fly. Those fixes are expected to lead to operational disruptions for passengers, Airbus said in a statement.
Some airlines were scrambling after the announcement to address the issue.
In a statement, American Airlines described its response as “all hands on deck” and said that it began identifying and completing software updates on the hundreds of A320s that are part of its fleet and require the fix.
The update takes roughly two hours per aircraft, the airline said.
“Though we expect some delays as we accomplish these updates, we are intently focused on limiting cancellations — especially with customers returning home from holiday travel,” the company said.
American Airlines added that an initial safety review found no indication that flight control data had been corrupted on its A320s.
ANA, Japan’s biggest airline, cancelled 95 flights on Saturday affecting 13,500 travellers.
A spokesperson for Delta said the airline expects limited operational impact, while Wizz Air, based in Hungary, and EasyJet, based in London, said that software fixes had been implemented overnight. In Germany, Lufthansa said there could be a small number of cancellations or delays.
British Airways said it planned on working overnight to implement software fixes on its three A320s.
Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Jay Blackman is an NBC News producer covering such areas as transportation, space, medical and consumer issues.
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