Airbus is recalling 6,000 A320 aircraft due to a software flaw that could damage control functions in sunlight, Reuters reports. Major disruptions to air traffic are now expected.

The software error was discovered during a flight between Cancun, Mexico, and Newark, USA, at the end of October. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida, and several people were taken to hospital after a sudden drop in altitude caused by problems with the flight control. 

The reason turned out to be that strong sunlight can affect important data that is crucial for the control function.

Now 6,000 aircraft of the A320 model are being recalled. According to TT, the announcement has led to hundreds of canceled flights around the world. Travelers in the United States are particularly affected as the Thanksgiving holiday means that many are traveling, according to the news agency.

For around two-thirds of the aircraft, the recall will result in a relatively short-term grounding as they only need to revert to an earlier version of software.

Many hundreds of planes – according to Bloomberg, as many as 1,000 – may also need to have their hardware replaced, which means they need to stay on the ground for several weeks.

”"Airbus is aware that these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions for passengers and customers," the France-based aircraft manufacturer said, according to Reuters.

The airline SAS states in a press release that the company is following the directive. However, no information is given as to whether the company needs to cancel departures. Norwegian does not have any planes of the current model, according to the Norwegian NRK.

Source: DI.SE-TT