After a software glitch left more than 6,000 Airbus A320 aircraft affected last week, the plane-maker on Monday said that less than 100 A320 jets remained grounded for a critical software update, signalling a return to normalcy for flight operations.
"Out of a total number of around 6,000 aircraft potentially impacted, the vast majority have now received the necessary modifications," Air bus said in a press release.
"We are working with our airline customers to support the modification of less than 100 remaining aircraft to ensure they can be returned to service," the plane-maker added.
The update comes days after Airbus on Friday announced that affected planes could not fly until a critical software update, with the issue coming to flight following an incident in the United States.
What was the software glitch?
The glitch affecting the Airbus A320 family of aircraft affected the system controlling the nose angle or 'angle of attack' of flights, which is a critical part of the flight-control system.
It was discovered that intense solar radiation from events such as solar flares could corrupt data critical to the functioning of the flight-control system, and in worst-case scenarios, could lead to an un-commanded elevator movement, causing the aircraft's nose to pitch down unexpectedly, something both dangerous and potentially catastrophic.
How was the glitch discovered?
The glitch came to light after a JetBlue Airbus A32 aircraft flying from Cancun in Mexico to Newark in the US unexpectedly lost altitude, leading to the passengers sustaining injuries.
Investigations suggested that solar radiation may have played a role, prompting regulators to rush to fix the glitch.
With the A320 family being the world's most common passenger jet, with around 11,300 in operation globally, regulators rushed for a "better safe than sorry" approach.
What does the fix involve?
Despite the alarming nature of the issue, the fix is a relatively simple one, requiring a quick software rollback to an older, tested, and stable software version.
While that is the case for most of the affected aircraft, some older models require replacing a piece of hardware.
The entire process for the update to take place requires two to three hours.
How are airlines faring?
Most major airlines, including Indian and US carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, American Airlines, United, Delta, and Wizz Air among others have already completed updates on almost all their aircraft, with minimal disruptions.
JetBlue, however, is an exception, having had to cancel about 70 flights for Sunday because of its fleet scheduling.
