James Routley

Flight disruption warning as Airbus requests modifications to 6k planes

Live Reporting

Edited by Laurence Peter and Helen Sullivan, with business correspondent Theo Leggett reporting

What we know about Airbus disruption so farpublished at 02:34 GMT

The discovery that computers installed on one of the most widely operated passenger planes could be vulnerable to interference from the sun has led to mass cancellations. Here is what we know.
- European aerospace giant Airbus has warned flights will be disrupted after it said it must carry out immediate software updates to thousands of its planes
- Over 6,000 planes, mainly the A320 model, are thought to be affected
- The disruption has fallen on a major holiday weekend in the US, which is home to four of the biggest A320 model operators: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines
- The issue was discovered after a JetBlue aircraft en-route from Mexico to the United States experienced a "sudden drop in altitude" in October
- It’s thought the incident was caused by interference from intense solar radiation, which corrupted data in a computer which controls the aircraft's elevation
- Disruption at UK airports has been fairly limited so far, though several airlines around the world have reported cancellations
We are pausing our live coverage for now, but you can read our latest updates on the story here.
How does solar radiation affect aircraft electronics?published at 02:11 GMT

Former Qantas captain Dr Ian Getley, who holds a PHD in cosmic and solar radiation in aviation, says flights can be affected by coronal mass ejections (CME), which is when plasma is ejected from the sun into space.
The higher the severity of the CME, the more likely it is that issues could arise with satellites and aircraft electronics above 28,000 ft (8.5 km), he tell us.
A CME releases heavily charged particles that shoot into the Earth's atmosphere.
These create more charged particles in the upper atmosphere, which in turn can interfere with aircraft electronics.
The former pilot says his research began after a 2003 flight between LA and New York, where he experienced this phenomenon first hand.
Japan's ANA airlines cancels flights due to software updatepublished at 01:57 GMT

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has cancelled 65 flights on Saturday after the recall forced it to ground aircraft, according to Reuters.
The carrier, along with affiliates such as Peach Aviation, is Japan's biggest operator of single-aisle Airbus aircraft, including the A320.
Air New Zealand issues update on flight disruptionpublished at 01:08 GMT

Air New Zealand has issued an update on their previous statement, and says that they will be able to operate A320 services today "where possible" before they commence with the required software updates to their aircraft.
It says new guidance has been circulated by the European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), which says that aircraft can continue operating until 12:59 local time on 30 November (23:59 GMT, 29 November) in order to "allow aircraft to get to their destination and minimise disruption".
The airline reiterated that their A320 fleet is safe to operate, and that the software update was precautionary.
Disruption falls on major US holiday weekendpublished at 00:30 GMT

The Airbus software issue has emerged on the same weekend at Thanksgiving, one of the US's busiest holiday periods.
Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration said that this year's travel period was expected to be the busiest in 15 years.
Four of the world's 10 biggest A320-family operators are major US airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines.
As we reported earlier, American Airlines said that 340 of its planes have been affected by the problem.
Over seven million people were projected to fly over the weekend, according to the US Department of Transportation.
Airlines around the world announce delays after Airbus requests immediate modificationspublished at 23:58 GMT 28 November
Jamie Whitehead

It's been a few hours now since Airbus announced it needs to implement an urgent software update to thousands of its planes. This comes after the discovery that intense radiation from the sun could corrupt data crucial to flight controls.
If you are just joining us, here's the latest:
- Several airlines around the world have announced potential service disruption, including American Airlines, Delta, Air India and Wizz
- But EasyJet says it has already completed the required software update and is planning on operating its flights as normal on Saturday
- We've heard from London's two biggest airports - Heathrow and Gatwick - Heathrow says this has no impact on its operations, while Gatwick is expecting some disruption
- The UK's Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says the impact on UK airlines seems limited, and advises passengers due to fly this weekend to check with carriers for more information
- Around 6,000 planes are thought to be affected, which is about half of Airbus's global fleet, our business correspondent Theo Leggett says this is a very unusual situation
Watch: Airlines 'taking different approaches' to upgrade software, says aviation analystpublished at 23:35 GMT 28 November

Media caption,
Airlines 'taking different approaches' to upgrade software, says aviation analyst
Sally Gethin, an aviation analyst, describes how the Airbus plane modifications are affecting airlines.
What is the Airbus A320?published at 23:04 GMT 28 November

Image source, Getty Images
Airbus describes A320 planes as the "aircraft family of choice for airlines around the world".
These planes can fly up to 4,700 nautical miles (8,700km) and have a seating capacity from 120 to 244 seats.
The A320 also flies with 50% sustainable aviation fuel, which Airbus aims to use 100% of by 2030.
The planes feature a choice of two advanced turbofan engines, meaning they benefit from 20% fuel burn reduction when compared with previous generations of the aircraft.
EasyJet says it has 'already completed' software update to planespublished at 22:43 GMT 28 November
Breaking

EasyJet says it has "already completed" the software update on many of its planes and plans to operate its flights as normal on Saturday.
A spokesperson says: "We plan to operate our flying programme normally on Saturday and ask that customers travelling continue to monitor their flights on flight tracker."
The airline adds that safety is its highest priority and it "always operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturers guidelines".
'The impact on UK airlines seems limited,' transport secretary sayspublished at 22:22 GMT 28 November
Katy Austin

Image source, Reuters
Responding to the technical issue with Airbus aircraft, the UK's Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says:
“I am aware of the technical issue impacting certain aircraft and concerns over how this will affect passengers and flights this evening."
She advises passengers who are due to fly this weekend to check with their carriers for the latest information.
The transport secretary says "the good news" is that "the impact on UK airlines seems limited, with a smaller number of aircraft requiring more complex software and hardware changes".
“I would really like to thank the experts, staff and airlines who are working at pace to address this and reassure passengers that work is ongoing."
"It is heartening this issue has been identified and will be addressed so swiftly, demonstrating the high aviation safety standards globally," she adds.
Australian airline Jetstar says some of its flights are unable to departpublished at 22:07 GMT 28 November

We've just seen an update from low-cost Australian airline Jetstar, which says some of its Airbus-operated flights are unable to depart at the moment.
"We’re working through the impacts on our fleet and to our customers. We'll have more information shortly," it says.
There is no impact to airline giant Qantas at this stage.
For context: Jetstar is Qantas's low-cost airline.
Planes can't fly passengers until they have been fixed, EASA sayspublished at 21:58 GMT 28 November
Michael Race

A European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive stipulates that, as of 29 November, the planes thought to be affected can only fly passengers once they've been fixed.
They will be allowed to make so-called "ferry flights", without passengers, in order to get to a maintenance facility.
The latest from Heathrow and Gatwick airportspublished at 21:49 GMT 28 November

Image source, Reuters
We've now heard from London's two biggest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick.
"We are aware of a directive requiring some airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft to update software on their fleet over coming days, which may result in some disruption," a spokesperson for Gatwick Airport says.
"This is only impacting a small number of airlines at London Gatwick. Passengers should contact their airline for more information."
Separately, Heathrow Airport says the required maintenance on some Airbus aircraft currently has no impact on its operations.
'Potential for disruption immeasurable at this stage,' travel journalist sayspublished at 21:48 GMT 28 November

"Dozens of big airlines use these aircraft," travel journalist Simon Calder tells the BBC.
"So the potential for disruption is, I'm afraid, immeasurable at this stage."
Calder says that while British Airways' mainline fleet of short-haul flights that are at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports use entirely Airbus A320 series planes, "my understanding is that only three of those are affected by this and as a result they'll be able to get the work done overnight, hopefully with no disruption".
He adds he has spoken to Wizz Air and EasyJet, who we have reported are expecting some delays. "Now the assumption, I'm glad to say, is that your flight will be going ahead as normal and the airline will contact you if there is any change to that."
About 80 aircraft affected at Gatwick, BBC understandspublished at 21:31 GMT 28 November
Simon Browning

The Airbus software issue could take hours to fix on the planes themselves, which an industry source suggests means some cancellations are inevitable over the weekend.
It is understood UK-based airlines are currently working on their plans, with one airline being particularly affected.
Planes will arrive in the UK this evening as usual, but it appears some will not do their next turnaround tomorrow and depart from the UK again.
I've been told airports will need to play “a logistical game of Tetris tonight to free up space” to make sure incoming aircraft can be parked overnight. Airports “will be having to park them remotely to ensure incoming long hauls have space", the industry source says.
It is unclear how many engineers will be needed at once to update software. The skies at this time of year are quieter after the peak summer period and before the Christmas festive rush begins.
It is understood about 80 aircraft are affected at Gatwick Airport.
Air Canada not expecting any impact to operationspublished at 21:27 GMT 28 November

Air Canada says it's not expecting any impact to its operations as "very few of our aircraft use that version of the software".
However, connecting flights with other airlines could still be delayed by a knock-on effect.
Other Canadian Airlines WestJet and Porter don't have any of the A320 planes listed on their websites.
How long will repairs take?published at 21:25 GMT 28 November
Theo Leggett

This issue affects around 6,000 aircraft.
For the majority of planes, the fix will involve installing new computer software. This should normally take about three hours.
But around 900 older planes will need computers replaced and will not be allowed to carry passengers again until the job has been completed.
How long that takes will depend on the availability of replacement computers.
It’s not yet clear whether there will be enough parts to meet demand.
More airlines warn of potential service disruptionpublished at 21:09 GMT 28 November

Image source, Getty Images
We're hearing from more airlines around the world who are now reporting potential disruptions to services as a result of the immediate recall of aircraft by Airbus.
- American Airlines says 340 of its planes are affected and that it expects "some operational delays" but expects the vast majority of updates to completed today or tomorrow
- Delta Airlines says it will comply with Airbus's instruction but expects any resulting operational impact to be "limited"
- Air India says the instruction from Airbus could lead to a "longer turnaround and delays to our scheduled operations
- Wizz Air has warned passengers flying over this weekend that they may face disruption as a result of the update
We'll bring you further airline updates when we have them.
Why this is an extremely unusual issuepublished at 21:06 GMT 28 November
Theo Leggett

It was experienced on one flight, when an aircraft flying from Cancun to New Jersey was affected by a sudden and intense solar storm.
The radiation corrupted data in the ELAC - a computer used to operate control surfaces on the wings and horizontal stabilizer.
The fault caused the plane to go into a sudden descent.
Airbus says the plane had recently had its software updated. The issue had never arisen with the previous software.
But now, it insists it is acting out of an abundance of caution.
It took the issue to regulators itself and asked airlines to make changes.
EasyJet expects 'some disruption'published at 20:55 GMT 28 November

Image source, Getty Images
EasyJet says its aware of the communication from Airbus to airlines operating the A320 family aircraft and is "currently working closely with the safety authorities and Airbus to implement the action we need to take".
The airline says it is expecting this to result in some disruption and will "inform customers directly about any changes to our flying programme tomorrow and will do all possible to minimise the impact".
“Safety is our highest priority and EasyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturers guidelines,” its statement concludes.