Aerospace corporation Airbus announced that it is recalling a "significant number" of A320 family aircraft to change the software, Reuters reported on November 28.
In a statement to airlines, Airbus said that the software needs to be replaced before the next scheduled flight.
Industry sources from Reuters believe this will lead to disruptions affecting half of the world's fleet of aircraft and will impact several thousand airliners. The agency notes that this could result in cancellations and delays during one of the busiest tourist weekends of the year in the U.S. and other countries.
Airbus stated that a recent incident involving an A320 family aircraft showed that intense solar radiation could damage data critical for the functioning of flight control systems.
According to Reuters, this concerns a JetBlue flight from Cancun (Mexico) to Newark (U.S.) on October 30, when several passengers were injured after a sudden loss of altitude. After issues arose with the flight control system, the JetBlue aircraft made an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.
This is one of the largest mass recalls of Airbus aircraft in the company's 55-year history. Approximately 11,300 A320 family aircraft are in operation, including 6,440 of the main A320 model, which first entered service in 1987. After Airbus issued the recall statement, around three thousand A320 family airliners were in the air worldwide.
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