Airlines around the world are gradually resuming normal operations after “Airbus“ managed to introduce emergency software fixes faster than initially expected. They were imposed after a signal of possible vulnerability to the impact of solar flares, Reuters reports, BTA reports.
The measures were taken after an air accident with a “JetBlue“ A320, which led to the temporary suspension of nearly half of the global fleet of the A320 family - about 6,000 aircraft.
Dozens of air carriers from Asia to the United States have already confirmed that they have carried out the required software fixes updates agreed with „Airbus“ and global regulators. However, some companies have announced that the process will take longer. Colombia“Avianca“, for example, extended the blocking of flight reservations until December 8.
According to sources, the decision to temporarily suspend flights was made shortly after indications of a potential, although unproven, link between a software risk and the unexpected drop in altitude of „JetBlue“ flights emerged. On Friday evening, „Airbus“ issued an eight-page warning to airlines, effectively ordering them to immediately suspend flights until the necessary fix was implemented.
The CEO of Saudi low-cost company „Flydeal“ Stephen Greenaway said the reaction was lightning fast. “The situation reached us at around 9:00 p.m. local time, and by 9:30 p.m. I was already on site. I am surprised how quickly we managed it, given the complexity of the operation“, he commented.
The measure raised serious concerns about possible travel disruptions, especially during the busy Thanksgiving weekend in the United States. According to sources cited by Reuters, the warning bulletin revealed that “Airbus“ did not have complete real-time information about the version of the software installed on each plane due to delays in reporting by operators.
Passengers of “Finnair“ reported aircraft being held on the runway for additional checks. Within a day, engineering teams focused their efforts on specific machines, with a number of airlines revising their initial estimates of the number of affected planes and the installation time, which Airbus had initially estimated at about three hours per plane.
An industry source quoted by Reuters said the number of affected planes had "significantly decreased". The manufacturer did not issue a new official statement after its statement on Friday.
The fix itself involves rolling back to an earlier version of the software that controls the nose angle. The installation is carried out via cable using a portable device called a "data loader" that is kept in the cockpit to limit the risk of cyberattacks. According to sources, at least one major airline has faced delays because it did not have enough such devices to service dozens of planes on short notice.
JetBlue said on Sunday evening that plan to complete the update of 137 of the 150 affected aircraft by Monday and will cancel about 20 flights due to the ongoing work.
Uncertainties remain over an older subset of A320 aircraft, which will require not only a reinstallation of the software but also a physical replacement of the on-board computer. According to sources, the number is significantly lower than the initial estimates of about 1,000 machines.
Aviation sector representatives note that the rapid and coordinated response to this mass recall shows a change in the industry's approach after the crisis with the “Boeing 737 MAX“. At that time, the American manufacturer was heavily criticized for its response after the fatal crashes caused by a software defect.
This is the first such case since then in which “Airbus“ has faced such a large-scale global scrutiny over safety. Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury issued a public apology, adopting a more direct tone in a sector that continues to be subject to lawsuits and heightened public scrutiny. “Boeing“ also said it would be more open in its communications.
“Is Airbus acting on the lessons of the Boeing MAX crisis? No doubt - every company in the aviation industry is doing so“, commented Ron Torossian, president of the New York PR agency “5W Public Relations“. According to him, the severe reputational damage to “Boeing“ after the hesitant and opaque response has proven that transparency is crucial. ““Airbus“ clearly shows a willingness to admit: ‘We could have done better’. This is received positively by regulators, customers and passengers“, he added.