Solar Radiation Risk: How India Fixed 323 Airbus A320 Aircraft in Days

The move addresses a potential issue where strong solar radiation could affect flight-control data.

According to the regulator, a total of 323 A320-family planes operated by IndiGo, Air India, and Air India Express have now been upgraded.

This includes all 200 IndiGo aircraft, 100 out of 113 Air India planes, and 23 out of 25 Air India Express aircraft.

DGCA officials said that four Air India planes are currently undergoing base maintenance and will be upgraded there, while nine others do not require the modification.

Two Air India Express aircraft are under maintenance and will be returned to their lessors.

The action follows an alert from Airbus on Friday. The manufacturer said that during periods of intense solar activity, such as solar flares, the aircraft’s Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC) could briefly malfunction.

This computer controls the aircraft’s movement up and down and its ability to turn. If affected, the data it sends to the plane’s control surfaces could momentarily get corrupted.

Although rare, such an occurrence could impact how the aircraft climbs, descends or turns.

After Airbus issued its alert, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) released an Emergency Airworthiness Directive.

The DGCA followed on Saturday with a similar directive, asking Indian carriers to carry out the software upgrade without delay.

Air India Express said in a statement on X that it completed the precautionary checks on its A320 fleet within the required timelines.

The airline added that close coordination between its engineering, operations and flight-safety teams, along with support from Airbus and regulators, helped ensure that flight operations continued with minimal disruption.

With the upgrades now complete, DGCA officials said the entire operational A320 fleet in India is safe and compliant with the latest international airworthiness requirements.

- IANS