An Air New Zealand Airbus A320. Photo / 123RF
The Civil Aviation Authority says it is still safe to fly, despite a day of chaos caused the sudden grounding of Airbus A320 planes around the world.
“The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is aware of the Airbus A320 situation and is working closely with Air New Zealand (and other relevant agencies) in response to an emergency airworthiness directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), requiring A320s to have a software update,” the CAA said in a statement.
“CAA would like to reassure passengers that it’s safe to fly and that this is a precautionary software update and does not present an immediate safety risk to flights.
“At the same time, we’ll monitor and manage any passenger queues at Aviation Security caused by flight disruptions.
“We encourage anyone flying over this weekend to stay up to date with their airline, arrive at the airport with plenty of time, and to be patient with airport and AvSec staff who are working hard to get you safely to your destination.”
Air New Zealand has been cleared to temporarily resume flights with its Airbus A320 fleet after the chaotic morning of delays and cancellations that affected airlines across the world.
Hundreds of travellers face lengthy delays at Auckland Airport alone. One passenger told Stuff that their flight had taken off on Saturday morning and was close to landing in Queenstown before it was turned around.
“We were minutes away from landing before abruptly pulling up.
“Initially the captain said he wasn’t sure why they were told not to land, and later said we were returning back to Auckland due to the global update needed,” Danielle Higgs told Stuff.
Another passenger told Radio New Zealand that he’d been queing for “about six hours” after his flight was cancelled.
The grounding of multiple planes is due to a software issue that impacts the A320 aircraft, which was identified by Airbus, who alerted airlines. It includes the A320neo and A320ceo, which Air New Zealand operates across its domestic and international network.
The national carrier has 37 A320 aircraft in its fleet.
Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said they’ve received confirmation they can resume flying the A320s.
“To allow aircraft to get to their destination and minimise disruption, a new update from the European Union Aviation Safety Authority [EASA] has advised that aircraft with this software can continue operating until 12.59pm on November 30, New Zealand time.
“This means that, where possible, we are able to operate A320 services today before commencing the required updates,” said McGraw.
The software fix may cause future delays.
“Air New Zealand will begin rolling through the updates to its A320 fleet as quickly as possible to minimise ongoing disruptions. It is important for customers to know that this is a precautionary software update and does not present an immediate safety risk to our flights,” said McGraw.
Travellers across New Zealand and Australia have been impacted so far.
“We have cancelled 12 services today and are expecting some further disruption today. Customers travelling today should continue to check the Air NZ app or website for the latest information on their flight,” said McGraw.
He says Air New Zealand will provide updates on any disruption to its schedule as soon as it has more information.
“We know unexpected changes are frustrating, and we are working hard to keep customers moving wherever possible,” McGraw said.
Jetstar has also been caught in the chaos, saying safety is its “number one priority”.
“To respond to a precautionary action from Airbus, we have cancelled some Jetstar Airways flights. Our teams are working on options to get customers on their way as quickly as possible and are contacting affected customers directly.
“We thank customers for their understanding and patience. We will continue to provide updates.”
An NZ Herald journalist who was scheduled to fly with Jetstar this morning described a “stampede” at Auckland Airport as cancelled flights were rebooked.
“We were waiting for flights that had already been delayed because of this global issue. There were no seats available [in the terminal lounge], and people were scattered across the floor.
“We were hopeful that maybe we’d start boarding soon and then this packed waiting room with two flights, one to Queenstown and one to Christchurch, we just heard over the intercom that both the flights had been cancelled and that everyone had to go downstairs and rebook,” said the traveller.
They’d managed to get on another flight later this afternoon – but others hadn’t.
“There’s hundreds of people waiting now. A lot of people seem quite frustrated.”
They said communication between the airline and passengers over the cause of the cancellations had been poor.
Several airlines announced delayed or cancelled flights following the Airbus alert that up to 6,000 operational A320 aircraft may require upgrades.
Air France cancelled 35 flights on Friday, while Colombian airline Avianca said 70 percent of its fleet had been impacted by a technical issue in the European plane-maker’s software.
Airbus instructed its clients to take “immediate precautionary action” after evaluating a technical malfunction on board a JetBlue flight in October.
“Intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” it said, adding that “a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service” may be affected.
Replacing the software will take “a few hours” on most planes but for some 1,000 aircraft, the process “will take weeks”, a source close to the issue told AFP.
Air France told AFP on Friday evening that it was calculating how many more flights would be cancelled Saturday.
“Customers affected by cancellations are being notified individually by SMS and email,” a spokesperson said.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in a statement Airbus had informed it about the issue.
“These measures may cause short-term disruption to flight schedules and therefore inconvenience to passengers,” EASA said, adding that “safety is paramount”.
Aerospace and defence giant Thales told AFP that it makes the flight control computer, which it said was “fully compliant with the technical specifications issued by Airbus” and certified by the EASA and its US equivalent, the FAA.
But it added: “The functionality in question is supported by software that is not under Thales’ responsibility.”
The Airbus statement did not specify which company had designed the software.
“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” it said, apologising for the inconvenience.
On October 30, a JetBlue-operated A320 aircraft encountered an in-flight control issue due to a computer malfunction.
The plane suddenly nosedived as it travelled between Cancun in Mexico and Newark in the United States, and pilots had to land in Tampa, Florida.
US media quoted local firefighters saying that some passengers were injured.
JetBlue has not yet responded to AFP’s request for comment.
Its competitor, American Airlines, said it had already begun updating software following Friday’s alert, and expected “the vast majority” of approximately 340 affected aircraft to be serviced by Saturday.
“Several delays” would occur as a result, it added.
An Avianca statement warned of “significant disruptions over the next 10 days”.
United Airlines told AFP it had not been “affected” by the incident, without providing further details.
Produced since 1988, the A320 is the world’s best-selling aeroplane. Airbus sold 12,257 of the aircraft by the end of September compared with the sale of 12,254 Boeing 737s.
– Additional reporting Agence France-Presse