(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Several airlines sprung into action on Saturday to fix a software glitch on their Airbus A320 jets as a sweeping recall by the European planemaker grounded aircraft and disrupted travel across several regions. Airlines including Gulf Air, IndiGo and Air India shared updates on the status of the fix on Saturday, assuring passengers of their efforts to maintain flight schedules.

Indian aviation regulator DGCA had informed that the software fix was completed in 270 out of their 338 aircraft. Airlines like IndiGO and Air India were expected to complete the fix by Saturday.

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"We are pleased to share a completion update on the mandatory Airbus system enhancement across our A320-family fleet. All 200 aircraft have now been fully updated and compliant as required," IndiGo said late on Saturday.

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Zero cancellations

IndiGo said that update was carried out with zero cancellation of flights.

"This programme involved a carefully coordinated sequence of work, with our engineering and operations teams ensuring each aircraft was updated with mandated system upgrade while maintaining stable operations across the network. Their effort helped us carry out a fleet-wide upgrade with minimal impact on customers' journeys and zero cancellations. With the completion of this technical requirement, every aircraft now operates with the latest approved configuration, and we continue to monitor performance closely as part of our routine safety procedures," they said.

Wizz Air, in a statement, said that the company identified 83 operational aircraft within its fleet requiring immediate software amendment.

Sharing the completion status, they said, "The required software amendment and subsequent testing was successfully completed on all affected operational aircraft. Due to the coordinated response of the engineering and operations teams, this mandatory maintenance has been managed with zero flight cancellations."

Air India at 90 per cent

Air India said that they had fixed 90 per cent of their "operating A320 family aircraft that were impacted by EASA and Airbus' requirement for a software realignment. We expect to cover the entire fleet within the timeline prescribed by EASA, with safety remaining our top priority. Rising to the occasion, our engineering and ground colleagues worked round the clock to ensure there were no cancellations and that the impact on our schedule integrity across the network was minimal."

Gulf Air issued a statement confirming that the operations of their A320 aircraft are proceeding normally following the completion of the mandatory software update directed by Airbus. They added that the update was implemented immediately upon issuance of the global alert and in full compliance with all safety requirements.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) confirmed that the safety inspections and required maintenance on A320 aircraft operated by UAE national carriers were underway. According to data shared by Cirium, a total of 106 Airbus A320 aircraft are in operation by UAE carriers Air Arabia and Etihad Airways.

Saudi Arabia's Flynas also informed that they had completed the updgrade without any impact on their operations.

The recall of 6,000 planes covers more than half of Airbus' global A320 family fleet, the backbone of Asian short-haul aviation, particularly in China and India where economic growth has brought millions of new travellers into the skies.

AirAsia, one of the world's largest A320 customers, said it aimed to complete fixes in 48 hours. Taiwan, meanwhile, said around two-thirds of the 67 A320 and A321 aircraft operated by the island's carriers were affected.

American Airlines, the world's largest A320 operator, said 209 of its 480 jets needed the fix, below initial estimates, most of which it expected to complete by Saturday.

U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines are also among the biggest A320-family operators.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologised to airlines and passengers after the surprise recall of 6,000 planes or more than half of the global A320-family fleet, which recently overtook the Boeing 737 as the industry's most-delivered model.

[With inputs from Reuters]

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