Update after Jetstar jets ‘unable to depart’, Airport chaos at major cities
There has been a major update after Jetstar flights were cancelled earlier today due to a huge global aircraft issue.
There has been an major update after chaos broke out at Australian airports earlier today as one of the biggest aircraft makers globally issued a huge warning.
This morning, Airbus warned of potential travel disruption as it upgrades some 6,000 operational A320 aircraft, after an incident on a JetBlue flight last month.
“Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” the aircraft manufacturer said in a statement.
“Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted.”
20 of 34 aircrafts ready to fly again
This afternoon, Jetstar confirmed to news.com.au that 20 of the 34 affected aircraft were ready to return to service.
“Our teams are progressively resolving the Airbus A320/1 fleet software issue which is affecting operators globally.
“As of 3:30pm, 20 of the 34 affected aircraft are ready to return to service. We’re expecting the remaining to be ready overnight, allowing flights to resume as planned on Sunday 30 November. However, there may be some flow on delays or cancellations on Sunday as the network fully recovers. We will contact customers by SMS and email if there are any further disruptions.
“Safety is our number one priority, and we sincerely thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we worked through this issue.”
34 out of 85 Jetstar flights affected
Earlier today, Jetstar confirmed 34 of 85 Airbus A320/1 aircraft were affected by this issue and for a number of these aircraft, “the work has already been carried out”.
“Jetstar is impacted by an Airbus fleet software issue that’s affecting all A320 family operators globally,” a Jeststar spokesperson told news.com.au on Saturday morning.
The airline cancelled around 90 flights across its network and a number of flights have also been delayed as a result.
“We’re working to resolve the issue today however there may be some further minor flight disruptions tomorrow,” the spokesperson said.
In addition to contacting customers directly, the Travel Alert on jetstar.com has information about options available for affected customers.
“Our teams are working on options to get customers on their way as quickly as possible and are contacting affected customers directly.”
The airline thanked customers for their understanding and patience.
“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we worked to get them on their way as soon as possible.”
Addressing media at Melbourne Airport on Saturday, Jetstar Airways Chief Pilot and Head of Flying Operations, Tyrone Simes said not all aircraft have been affected as the issue was triggered by a “particular combination of software updates”.
“What we’ve been notified from Airbus, the manufacture, and also a directive from the European Aviation Safety Authority is that there is a particular flight control computer on-board the aeroplane that in a certain circumstance has shown an anomaly … and as a result of that, they have given us a maintenance directive to reverse that software upgrade which is a maintenance action on-board the aeroplane before it can be released for service again.”
Mr Simes said the engineering team need to physically board each plane to change the software status and will need to “carry out some flight control checks after that is done to ensure that (it has) both been effective and the aeroplane (can) safely dispatch.”
He said each update will take between two and three hours.
‘Immediate precautionary action’
Airbus on Friday instructed its clients to take “immediate precautionary action” after revealing the planes require a software update after an issue with the flight control software was identified.
Airlines will be required to correct the problem before their planes are permitted to fly again.
Replacing the software will take “a few hours” on most planes but for some 1,000 aircraft, the process “will take weeks”, a source close to the issue told AFP.
“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” Airbus said.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”
The recall is expected to affect more than half of Airbus’ global fleet.
The faulty software, the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), is made by aerospace and defence giant Thales.
The company told AFP the flight control computer was “fully compliant with the technical specifications issued by Airbus” and certified by the EASA and its US equivalent, the FAA.
But it added: “The functionality in question is supported by software that is not under Thales’ responsibility.”
On October 30, a JetBlue-operated A320 aircraft encountered an in-flight control issue due to a computer malfunction.
The plane suddenly nosedived as it travelled between Cancun in Mexico and Newark in the United States, and pilots had to land in Tampa, Florida.
US media quoted local firefighters saying that some passengers were injured.
Airport chaos across Australia
Videos and images circulating on social media show long queues across major Australian airports.
Elisha Faithh was heading to Sydney from Adelaide to celebrate her 18th birthday when her flight was suddenly grounded.
“Our flight to Sydney was meant to depart at 7.15am and we were told it was cancelled during the boarding process,” Elisha told news.com.au.
The teen shared a TikTok from Adelaide airport that showed packed gates as passengers were informed of the unfolding situation.
“At first we were just told the flight was cancelled and to proceed to the check in desk which is outside of security and there was a MASSIVE queue,” she said.
“We were later informed that that the issue was solar radiation affecting the navigation GPS and flight controls.”
Elisha, who was travelling with her family, said her mother was able to get them on a Virgin flight.
“My mum scrambled to the Virgin desk to book onto the next flight which was full but got us onto a later flight with 10 seats left. The tickets for all five of us on the Virgin flight cost $2600.”
She said at this stage, Jetstar has not yet advised of any refunding or reimbursing processes.
Flights cancelled around the world
Elsewhere around the world, several airlines have announced delayed or cancelled flights.
Air France has cancelled 35 flights, while Colombian airline Avianca said 70 per cent of its fleet has been impacted and warned of “significant disruptions over the next 10 days”.
Over in the US, American Airlines said it has already begun updating software following the alert, and expected “the vast majority” of approximately 340 affected aircraft to be serviced by Saturday, US time.
“Several delays” would occur as a result, it added.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand said its fleet was temporarily grounded on Saturday morning but it has since been given the all clear to resume.
“To allow aircraft to get to their destination and minimise disruption, a new update from the European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) has advised that aircraft with this software can continue operating until 12:59pm on 30 November, New Zealand time,” their airline wrote on X.
“This means that, where possible, we are able to operate A320 services today before commencing the required updates. Air New Zealand will begin rolling through the updates to its A320 fleet as quickly as possible to minimise ongoing disruptions.”
Produced since 1988, the A320 is the best-selling plane globally, with Airbus selling 12,257 of the aircraft by the end of September compared to the sale of 12,254 Boeing 737s.
— more to come
Originally published as Update after Jetstar jets ‘unable to depart’, Airport chaos at major cities
