Airbus system upgrade affects over 70 Phl domestic flights

More than 70 domestic flights were either canceled or delayed yesterday as local carriers grounded their Airbus A-320 and A-321 aircraft to give way to a software upgrade required by a European air safety agency.

- By ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES

Domestic carriers Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines had to temporarily stop as many as 78 flights to submit their Airbus fleet to a software upgrade - according to acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez - in compliance with a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) airworthiness directive to the aircraft company based in Toulouse, France, to demand A320 operators correct a crucial component in the jet.

A recent analysis on A320 aircraft showed that the sun's radiation may corrupt data critical to operating flight controls. In response, Airbus put out an alert to airlines to conduct a software upgrade for their safety compliance.

In the Philippines, the A320 and A321 are the most popular single-aisle aircraft used by carriers to fly short-range destinations.

Cebu Pacific manages 66 of these jets in its fleet, while PAL is running with 45, although not all of these aircraft have to be corrected.

As of yesterday morning, Cebu Pacific was still updating the software of 22 aircraft, as PAL was waiting on 11 more, causing cancellations for domestic flights.

AirAsia Philippines was able to complete the software upgrade immediately, but still had to delay at least 11 flights affecting more than 1,000 passengers.