It is the software on Airbus 320 aircraft that needs to be updated. Approximately 6,000 planes are affected, more than half of the European aircraft manufacturer's entire fleet.
The company said in a press release that a recent incident involving an A320 plane has revealed that strong solar radiation can affect the control of the aircraft. The reason is that the plane's software does not work properly.
About two-thirds of the affected planes will be grounded for a relatively short period of time, allowing them to revert to an older version of the software. But about 1,000 planes will also have to have parts replaced, meaning they will be out of service for several weeks.
On Friday evening, Air France announced that it was canceling 35 flights as a result of the problems with the Airbus plane, Le Parisien reports. Delta, American Airlines, Easyjet and Vizz Air also announced that traffic disruptions may occur.
TT has contacted SAS, which has not given any information about whether the company is affected or not. Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK states that Norwegian has no plans for the current model.
The software bug was discovered in late October during a flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, USA. The plane suffered a severe drop in altitude and was forced to make an emergency landing in Florida.
The EU aviation authority Easa has issued a directive for the measures that must be taken on the affected Airbus planes.
