A320 fleet grounded: DGCA acts after Airbus flags software vulnerability
New Delhi, Nov 29: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has moved to halt operations of several Airbus A320-family aircraft…
New Delhi, Nov 29: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has moved to halt operations of several Airbus A320-family aircraft models after the manufacturer flagged a critical safety concern linked to a recent software update.
Out of more than 560 A320 aircraft in India, around 200–250 require immediate inspection and repairs. Over 350 aircraft operated by IndiGo and Air India will undergo updates over the next 23 days.
As a result, several flights may be delayed, rescheduled, or even cancelled. The airlines have advised passengers to keep checking their flight status on the app or website.
The precaution comes amid a global directive from Airbus, which has urged operators to carry out immediate repairs on thousands of A320-series jets after an incident revealed that “solar radiation” could corrupt data essential for flight-control functions.
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Airbus has since identified a large section of its global A320 fleet—estimated at nearly 6,000 aircraft—as potentially vulnerable.
The company said it has already coordinated with international aviation regulators and issued an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT), advising airlines to install protective software and hardware updates.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is set to formalise this through an Emergency Airworthiness Directive.
In India, the DGCA has echoed these instructions through an airworthiness directive signed by Assistant Director (Airworthiness) Nishikant Sharma, emphasising that no aircraft covered under the mandatory modification requirement may operate until full compliance is ensured.
The directive spans a long list of Airbus variants, including multiple models from the A319, A320 and A321 series.
Domestic airlines are bracing for operational disruptions. Both IndiGo and Air India have warned passengers of possible delays and schedule changes as they ground aircraft for technical checks in response to Airbus’s advisory.
