KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has begun implementing a mandatory software rollback on the Airbus A320 aircraft in its inventory, in line with an urgent Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by certification authorities.
The airline said yesterday that the directive does not impact its A330 fleet, and it is prioritising the swift execution of the required changes and will adjust its flight operations as necessary to ensure compliance.
Group chief executive officer Bo Lingam said the carrier aims to complete the process within 48 hours while minimising disruption.
“We are taking immediate steps to comply with the Airworthiness Directive and aim to complete the process within the next 48 hours, while ensuring minimal disruption to our guests.
“We seek our guests’ understanding, as these mandated measures are essential in upholding the highest standards of operational safety,” he said in a statement, as carried in a Bernama report yesterday.
Media reports, citing Airbus sources, indicated that about 6,000 aircraft – in a number of major airlines worldwide – could be affected.
In a separate statement, Airbus said a recent analysis of an event involving an A320 family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.
The European plane maker said it has identified a significant number of A320 family aircraft currently in service that may be impacted and has taken immediate steps in collaboration with global aviation authorities.
“Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly.
“This AOT will be reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),” it said.
Airbus acknowledged that the measures may lead to operational disruptions for passengers and customers, and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
