Airlines will be required to carry out a software update in some Airbus 320 aircrafts after the manufacturer issued an alert.
“Following an alert raised by Airbus, a directive has been issued to airlines advising them of a requirement to update instances of a particular version of software installed on some of the global Airbus A320 family of aircraft.
“In Aer Lingus’s case a limited number of aircraft are impacted, and the airline is taking immediate steps to complete the required software installation. As a result, Aer Lingus expects that there will be no significant operational disruption,” a spokesperson said.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the main certifying authority for the A320 family of aircraft, issued the instruction on Friday night as a “precautionary action”.
Although not all A320 planes will require a software update, several airlines have these aircrafts in their fleet and could be impacted, the EASA said.
“The requirement will mean the airlines flying these aircraft will in some cases have to change software over the days ahead or remain on the ground from Sunday onwards until the software has been changed,” it said.
“This action is likely to mean that unfortunately there may be some disruption and cancellations to flights.”
Wizz Air has warned passengers flying with the airline they may face disruption over the weekend as a result of the update.
“Wizz Air confirms that some of its aircraft are among the more than 6,500 Airbus A320 family aircraft worldwide that require a software update, as recently identified by the aircraft manufacturer,” the airline said in a statement on Friday.
“Wizz Air has already immediately scheduled the necessary maintenance to ensure full compliance with the identified mitigation.
“As a result, some flights over the weekend may be affected.
“Passengers who booked directly with Wizz Air via the website or mobile app will be notified of any schedule changes.
“The safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft is always our number one and overriding priority.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by circumstances outside of our direct control.”
Passengers flying with British Airways should not face any significant disruption as only three of their aircraft require the update, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed.
Jet2.com said it was “installing software updates on a very small number of aircraft” in its fleet, adding: “We can confirm there will be no impact to our flying programme as a result.”