New Delhi, Nov 29 (NationPress) Air travel both in India and internationally is poised for disruptions this weekend as 6,000 Airbus A320 family aircraft are being grounded for an essential software update. Airlines globally aim to finalize this upgrade by the start of next week.

In India, over 350 A320-series planes operated by IndiGo and the Air India Group will be temporarily grounded for this process, which is expected to last between two to three days. Normal operations are anticipated to resume by December 1 or 2.

This worldwide initiative follows a safety investigation into an incident involving a JetBlue flight that took place on October 30.

The aircraft, flying from Cancun to Newark, unexpectedly pitched downward mid-flight, injuring 15 passengers. The plane was subsequently diverted to Tampa, where several individuals received medical assistance.

The US National Transportation Safety Board has linked the unexpected nose-down movement to a malfunction in the flight control system caused by a switching event. In light of this finding, regulators, including the European Aviation Safety Authority, along with Airbus, mandated airlines to update the affected systems.

Globally, around 6,000 A320 aircraft will require updates. For newer models, the upgrade can take under 30 minutes with a standard software loader. However, older planes may necessitate additional hardware modifications, potentially extending the duration of the process and temporarily disrupting flight schedules.

Airlines have begun notifying passengers and providing advisories via their official channels.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, shared on social media platform X, "Safety comes first. Always. Airbus has issued a technical advisory for the global A320 fleet. We are proactively completing the mandated updates on our aircraft with full diligence and care, in line with all safety protocols.

"While we work through these precautionary updates, some flights may see slight schedule changes. Our teams are available 24×7 to assist you with rebooking, updates, and information. Please verify your latest flight status on our app/website before heading to the airport. Thank you for your patience and trust in us."

Air New Zealand issued a similar announcement, confirming the temporary grounding of its A320 aircraft early on Friday. The airline reassured that there is no immediate safety threat and characterized the action as a precaution.

It noted that EASA has permitted aircraft to continue operations until November 30 (NZ time), allowing some scheduled flights to proceed before the upgrades commence. The airline promised to act swiftly to mitigate disruptions and will directly contact affected travelers.

Air India also addressed its customers on social media platform 'X', stating, "We are aware of Airbus's directive concerning its A320 family aircraft currently in service across airline operators.

"This will necessitate a software/hardware realignment on a portion of our fleet, resulting in longer turnaround times and delays to our scheduled operations. Air India regrets any inconvenience this may cause to passengers until the reset is executed across the fleet. We encourage customers to check their flight status at https://airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html before heading to the airport and to connect with our contact center at 011-69329333, 011-69329999 for further assistance."

Meanwhile, Airbus confirmed the necessity for the mandatory update, indicating that strong solar radiation could compromise critical flight control data on certain A320-family jets. This fix aims to eliminate this potential vulnerability and ensure ongoing safe operations.