Over 350 Indian A320 jets are grounded for an urgent software fix after a solar radiation glitch threatened flight controls. EASA mandates repairs, causing mass flight delays and cancellations for IndiGo and Air India.
Airbus A320 Solar Radiation Glitch IndiGo Air India Flight Delays
The Indian aviation landscape is facing significant turbulence as major carriers IndiGo and Air India contend with an unprecedented global safety directive from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Following an alert that intense solar radiation could potentially corrupt data vital to flight control systems, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has mandated the urgent grounding of thousands of A320 family jets worldwide.
Following a recent in-flight scare involving an A320 abroad, aviation regulators and Airbus discovered a critical, potential flaw. Intense, high-altitude solar flares or cosmic radiation appear capable of corrupting the data housed within the Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC), a central brain of the aircraft’s fly-by-wire system. The response was immediate and non-negotiable.
The situation demands patience from travellers and full transparency from the carriers. The industry is effectively facing an emergency health check for its most vital asset, driven by cosmic forces few had previously considered a tangible threat to their daily commute. For the safety-conscious world of aviation, where zero tolerance is the only acceptable standard, the disruption is a small price to pay for ensuring the integrity of flight controls and upholding the paramount priority of passenger safety.
