Airbus has repaired most of the recalled aircraft and is returning them to service

Airbus has repaired most of its six thousand A320 family aircraft after a software problem linked to solar flares. A recent incident aboard a JetBlue A320 highlighted a possible link between a drop in altitude and a computer vulnerability to solar flares, prompting Airbus to order the airline to carry out a quick software fix before its next flight.

The Airbus A320 fleet is returning to normal operations faster than expected. The fix for these aircraft consisted of reverting to a previous version of the software.

The older A320 series aircraft will need a new hardware unit as the software reset is not sufficient for them. The process of returning them to service is complicated by a global shortage of chips. Airbus shares are down three per cent, supplier Thales shares down two per cent.

But Thales says it is not responsible for the software problem. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has publicly apologised for the problems.

(reuters, sie)