NEW DELHI: Airways throughout nation are speeding to finish emergency software program upgrades on greater than 350 Airbus A320-family plane after a uncommon international security directive warned that intense photo voltaic radiation might corrupt flight-control information and set off sudden, uncommanded plane actions. The Directorate Normal of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered quick compliance on Saturday after Airbus flagged a vulnerability in ELAC B flight-control computer systems working software program model L104, the identical configuration linked to an October 30 JetBlue A320 incident by which the plane unexpectedly pitched downward with out pilot enter, injuring a number of passengers and prompting a US federal investigation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation mentioned late Saturday that IndiGo, Air India and Air India Categorical have accelerated upgrades throughout their fleets and anticipate full compliance by the tip of the day. IndiGo has 200 affected plane and has accomplished upgrades on 184, with the rest anticipated to be cleared by 23:59 hours. Air India has 113 plane requiring the repair and has accomplished 69 installations, whereas Air India Categorical has upgraded 17 of its 25 affected plane. The DGCA has burdened that no plane might function till the necessary modification is full, aside from repositioning flights to upkeep bases. Airbus issued the pressing international alert after figuring out that photo voltaic flares can, underneath sure situations, corrupt information utilized by the plane’s elevator management computer systems, doubtlessly inflicting surprising control-surface actions. The corporate has instructed operators worldwide to right away revert to an earlier, steady software program model. The difficulty impacts about 6,000 A320-family plane globally, though roughly 1,000 older jets might require {hardware} replacements, a course of that can take longer. The directive has triggered widespread disruption throughout one of many busiest journey intervals of the yr, with airways throughout Europe and the Americas reporting delays and cancellations as they confirm software program variations and apply the repair. American Airways has recognized lots of of plane requiring the replace, Air France has cancelled a number of flights, Avianca has paused ticket gross sales into December, and carriers together with Delta, Finnair, Volaris and Air New Zealand have warned of operational influence. Europe’s aviation regulator, EASA, has directed operators to finish the repair earlier than their subsequent flight, acknowledging the inconvenience however underscoring that security stays paramount. Though the replace takes solely round two hours per plane, upkeep strains worldwide are already stretched by ongoing engine-related groundings and labour shortages, forcing airways to make use of in a single day upkeep home windows and brief turnaround intervals to finish the restore. Airbus’s directive is among the many most vital remembers in its historical past and comes at a time when greater than 3,000 A320-family plane had been airborne globally, highlighting the size and urgency of the operation. India operates one of many world’s largest A320 fleets, dominated by IndiGo and the Air India group. The A320, which launched fly-by-wire controls to industrial aviation within the Nineteen Eighties, now accounts for a considerable share of worldwide visitors. The newest security replace provides to the mounting technical pressures on the aviation sector as regulators transfer rapidly to handle rising digital and software program vulnerabilities linked to space-weather occasions.