Kathmandu. Airlines around the world have cancelled hundreds of flights after a major glitch in Airbus SE software produced by aircraft giant Airbus raised the risk of disrupting the West’s most important holiday and travel seasons. Some have even adjusted their flight schedules.
According to Aviation News, the European planemaker said on Friday that more than 6,500 large aircraft of Airbus in use around the world could be affected as a result of a software problem. It comes as Europe’s aviation safety regulator has ordered the affected planes to undergo software upgrades before their next routine flights.
Airbus scrambled to update software for the affected A320 jetliners after seeing a rare global return of its best-selling jet. As a result, hundreds of flights have been cancelled and thousands of passengers’ flight plans have been pushed back.
Colombia’s Avianca SA has affected more than 70% of the aircraft in its fleet. Due to this effect, ticket sales have to be suspended until December 8. Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc cancelled 95 flights on Saturday, with 13,200 passengers directly affected.
The latest incident involving JetBlue Airways Corp.’s Jetliner, an instant software solution released late Friday by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, comes after a report showed that “intense solar radiation” can distort data that helps maintain flight controls.
The findings are a significant headache for Airbus, as the A320 is the company’s most widely flown aircraft. There are more than 11,000 in operation on this model.
