Air travel across the globe faced major disruption this weekend after Airbus ordered an immediate software change on a “significant number” of its A320-family aircraft, prompting groundings, cancellations, and delays involving thousands of jets — including the full shutdown of Air New Zealand’s A320neo fleet.
The emergency directive follows a recent incident in which intense solar radiation was found to corrupt data critical to an aircraft’s flight-control systems. Airbus confirmed the problem after a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark suffered an uncommanded drop in altitude on 30 October, injuring passengers and forcing an emergency landing in Tampa. The FAA is now investigating, while the European Union Aviation Safety Agency is preparing its own emergency mandate.
The flaw sits within the ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer) system, which translates pilot commands to the aircraft’s control surfaces. Around two-thirds of affected aircraft will require only a software rollback, estimated to take about two hours per jet, but hundreds more may need hardware changes — raising the spectre of prolonged groundings amid already stretched global maintenance capacity.
With more than 11,300 A320-family jets in service worldwide and roughly 3,000 airborne at the time of Airbus’ announcement, airlines scrambled to identify affected aircraft. American Airlines said 340 of its A320s need the fix, while United Airlines reported no impact.
In New Zealand, the repercussions were immediate. Air New Zealand cancelled multiple A320 flights on Saturday after grounding every A320neo in its fleet. Chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said the airline was acting “as a precaution,” confirming each aircraft must receive the software update before its next passenger service.
“This will lead to disruption across a number of our A320neo flights on Saturday,” he said. “We’re expecting a number of cancellations across that fleet and will contact customers directly if their flight is affected.”
A320s are widely used on Air NZ’s trans-Tasman and Pacific Island routes, meaning significant impacts for weekend travellers.
Airbus acknowledged the scale of the disruption, apologising to airlines and passengers while stressing safety as its “number one and overriding priority.”
Industry analysts say the mass recall — one of the largest in Airbus’ 55-year history — comes just weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the world’s most delivered airliner.
Image credit: Gabriel Concalves
Has the Erebus Memorial debate arrived at an ominous time?
Hopefully not
Do digital ID’s with all your data in software still sound like such a wonderful idea? Hard copy can’t be beaten in many instances, for robustness and for that matter, security. Digital formats are by contrast, a thin skin that can easily be punctured but of course, these scummy globalist pricks know this and will still do just about anything to have all of people’s lives, at the press of the button, so they can cancel anyone, who steps out of line.
Yes You are most probably absolutely correct
But not withstanding the fact it is invariably coming
Governments are running scared of their own citizens
Who now fully realize they have been screwed
And have been being screwed every which way for such a long time
A good idea is to set up a “Real Me” account which is extremely easy
Which may be the portal they use
So You don’t get caught with Your pants down 😉
The sooner Air NZ goes broke the better
Which isn’t about to happen anytime soon
Because New Zealand is obligated under the International Finance Agreement 1962
To keep the chem trails coming
Which is why the govt always will maintain a 51% financial stake
To ensure these obligations under that said agreement are fulfilled and upheld
The universe and the sun can only affect little stuff like digital sh*t .
But of course the universe and the sun don’t have anything
to do with the bigger stuff like the climate.
An X-Flare is coming our way.
https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity/solar-flares.html
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings
I’m just a little peon…a serf and indentured usury servant to the Zionist system…BUT-
I WARNED AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS, POLITICIANS, THE VARIOUS ICAO ENTITIES THAT FLY-BY-WIRE AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARE NOT PROPERLY SHIELDED AGAINST CME’s X-CLASS SOLAR FLARES, ETC.
NEVER HEARD BACK FROM ANYONE.
I not only suggested that aircraft controls remain mechanical, but that 8th generation vacuum tubes in the black boxes (avionics, etc.) are free from being fried by an EMP.
This is why the Russians continue to use vacuum tubes in their aircraft to this day…vacuum tubes are immune from being fried by CME’s EMP’s and X-Class Solar Flares.
Ever since the flight controls and related systems (autopilots, control surface trim, and Flight Management Computers) became ‘FLY-BY-WIRE’, I have not set foot on any airliner since!
Also, when the Flight Engineers got booted off the flight deck / cockpit, that was when I made the final decision NOT TO FLY ON FLY-BY-WIRE MODERN COMPUTERISED AIRCRAFT!!!!!!
Push rods, bellcranks, cable runs with pinned pulleys, and *rack & pinion stabiliser trim (*which I invented, but was never adopted) that aimed to replace traditional jackscrews have never been adopted.
My ratty 61 year old Cessna does just fine…I may be low and slow, but at least I won’t crash due top uncommanded inputs from a computer that was hijacked or fried by a flare!
AND-
I don’t have to put up with the bullshit from rude, impersonal and obnoxious ‘flight attendants’ (formerly Stewards & Stewardesses) or she-boons peeing in the aisles at 33,000 feet while a drug-crazed meth-addicted primate tries to open the escape hatch or door at 500 MPH!!!