Indian airlines complete software upgrades on 323 A320 jets after EASA-Airbus warning

Aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has confirmed the completion of software upgrades on 323 A320 family planes by Indian airline operators following a potential issue raised by European aircraft maker Airbus. Indian airline companies, including IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express, operate a total of 338 A320 family aircraft, which were identified for the said software upgrade.

News agency PTI reported that a total of 323 were operational, and six were under base maintenance. It has been found that the upgrades were not required for a total of 9 such planes, which are a part of the Air India fleet, the agency cited a senior DGCA official as saying.

IndiGo, on the other hand, has completed the upgrades on all 200 of its operational A320 family planes. In a statement on X, IndiGo stated that it has conducted the mandatory Airbus system enhancement across its A320-family fleet. "All 200 aircraft have now been fully updated and compliant as required."

The airline shared that the programme involved a carefully coordinated sequence of work, with its engineering and operations teams ensuring each aircraft was updated with the mandated system upgrade while maintaining stable operations across the network. "Their effort helped us carry out a fleet-wide upgrade with minimal impact on customers' journeys and zero cancellations. With the completion of this technical requirement, every aircraft now operates with the latest approved configuration, and we continue to monitor performance closely as part of our routine safety procedures."

Air India said it has also completed the reset on over 90% of its operating A320 family aircraft that were impacted by EASA and Airbus’ requirement for a software realignment. "We expect to cover the entire fleet within the timeline prescribed by EASA, with safety remaining our top priority. Rising to the occasion, our engineering and ground colleagues worked around the clock to ensure there were no cancellations and that the impact on our schedule integrity across the network was minimal."

Airlines on Saturday moved swiftly after the aviation regulator issued safety guidelines concerning software and hardware realignment for A320-family aircraft, as directed by the EU-based aircraft maker Airbus SE, which said an analysis of a recent event involving an A320 family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

The DGCA directive came after Airbus said an analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. "Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in service which may be impacted." The aircraft maker said Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly. "This AOT will be reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)."