PIA says its operations are not affected by global recall of Airbus A320
Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) said on Saturday it remains unaffected by
Airbus’ recall of A320-family jets, as carriers worldwide work to resolve a
flight-control software glitch that grounded aircraft across Asia and Europe
and raised concerns in the United States.
Airlines reported short-term
disruptions heading into the weekend after regulators ordered fixes to a
software issue suspected of contributing to a sudden altitude drop on a JetBlue
flight last month, which left 15 passengers injured.
Airbus
said its review of the JetBlue incident indicated that intense solar radiation
may have corrupted data essential to the A320’s flight-control systems. The
finding prompted the US Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) to join the European
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in mandating a software update
affecting more than 500 US-registered aircraft.
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Responding to concerns, PIA said on X that it had not installed the faulty Flight Controls Software (ELAC-L104) patch implicated in the issue.
“PIA did not load the faulty
software patch. Our planes are perfectly safe and there shall be no flight
disruption consequently,” the airline said.
EASA earlier cautioned that the
required fixes could cause “short-term disruption” to flight schedules, noting
that the problem stemmed from a recent software update to the aircraft’s
onboard systems.
Airbus
CEO Guillaume Faury issued an apology to customers, acknowledging the
“significant logistical challenges and delays” caused by the mandatory update.
He said Airbus teams were “working around the clock” to support operators and
return affected jets to service as quickly as possible.
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The JetBlue incident occurred on Oct. 30 during a flight from Cancun to Newark, when the aircraft abruptly lost altitude, injuring passengers and forcing a diversion to Tampa, Florida.
Airbus, headquartered in France and
registered in the Netherlands, is one of the world’s largest aircraft
manufacturers. Its A320 family is the world’s bestselling single-aisle jet,
competing directly with Boeing’s 737 series. The upgraded A320neo variant,
featuring more efficient engines, has been in service since the mid-2010s.
Source: Arab News