South African Airways (SAA) has confirmed it received an urgent airworthiness directive from Airbus requiring a mandatory software update for its A320 aircraft.
The airline says safety remains its top priority, noting: “In response, we have taken immediate and proactive measures to ensure full compliance with the directive.”
SAA adds it does not expect any flight disruptions as a result of the update.
The directive follows Airbus’s analysis of a recent incident involving an A320 Family aircraft, which indicated that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight-control functions. Airbus has identified a significant number of in-service A320 Family aircraft that could be affected.
According to Airbus: “Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly.
“This AOT will be reflected in an emergency airworthiness directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.”
The company also noted: “Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”
SAA technical began software installation work early on Sunday, deploying teams to meet the urgent compliance timeline.
The airline says: “Despite the narrow compliance window, our teams are working efficiently to complete the four-hour installation procedure on the two affected aircraft within our fleet of 14 A320s.”
It adds that a structured plan has been put in place to expedite the work and avoid schedule disruptions.
Professor John Lamola, SAA group chief executive, says: “We appreciate the understanding of our customers and assure them that we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety and operational integrity throughout this process.”
The airline says further updates will be issued if there are any material changes to the situation or its operational impact.
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