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Air India has initiated an accelerated software and hardware realignment programme across its Airbus A320 family aircraft following an urgent global directive issued by Airbus and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) addressing a potential safety risk.
The airline on Saturday said safety remains its "top priority" and confirmed that over 40 per cent of its affected aircraft have already undergone the mandatory reset. In a statement posted on X, Air India said its engineering teams have been "working round-the-clock" to complete the task within the timeline prescribed by EASA. "Air India can confirm that there have been no cancellations due to this task, and there is no major impact on schedule integrity across our network. However, some of our flights may be slightly delayed or rescheduled," the airline noted, adding that ground teams are assisting passengers and travellers are advised to check updated flight status before heading to airports. The global directive follows Airbus' identification of a potential "solar radiation risk" that could corrupt data linked to critical flight-control systems. The issue surfaced after an incident involving an A320 aircraft, prompting the manufacturer to issue an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) and work with regulators on an Emergency Airworthiness Directive. The corrective action covers nearly 6,000 A320-family aircraft worldwide. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also issued an airworthiness directive prohibiting the operation of the affected Airbus models until the mandatory modification is completed. The list includes multiple variants of the A319, A320 and A321 series currently operated by several Indian carriers. Domestic airlines are now working to mitigate disruptions. Air India has said it expects to meet the compliance deadline without significant operational impact. IndiGo, which operates the country's largest A320 fleet, confirmed it is coordinating with Airbus to complete the mandated updates and minimise passenger inconvenience. Both airlines reaffirmed safety as their foremost commitment. Air India urged passengers to stay updated via its website or contact centres as precautionary measures progress. (ANI)
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