Airbus has begun inspecting a limited number of A320 aircraft after identifying a supplier quality issue involving metal panels, with up to around 600 planes potentially affected, according to the company’s comments to AFP.
Scope of the inspections
The European aircraft manufacturer confirmed that an unspecified number of aircraft will undergo inspections after the issue was found with metal panels supplied for some A320 planes. Airbus said the matter relates to a “limited number” of aircraft and stressed that not all planes inspected are expected to require repairs.
Speaking to the BBC, an Airbus spokesperson said the source of the problem has been identified and contained, and that all newly produced panels now meet required standards. “Only inspections will determine where an aircraft may have panels with quality issues and the appropriate action to be taken,” the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Airbus said it adopted a “conservative approach” by deciding to inspect all aircraft that could be affected. While the company did not confirm a specific figure to the BBC, it told AFP that around 600 A320 aircraft could fall within the scope of the checks. AFP also reported that Airbus stated the number of aircraft requiring inspection was “reducing day by day as inspections progress to identify those needing a specific action to be taken.”
Airline responses
The BBC has contacted several major airlines that operate the A320 model for comment, including British Airways, American Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.
Recent software grounding incident
The inspections follow a separate aircraft-wide safety issue reported earlier this week. More than 6,000 Airbus aircraft were grounded globally for urgent software updates after engineers discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers. The vulnerability was identified after an aircraft traveling between the United States and Mexico experienced a sudden loss of altitude, resulting in injuries to 15 people on board.
The software issue led to one of the largest aviation industry recalls to date and caused widespread disruption and flight cancellations worldwide over the final weekend of November. The disruptions were especially significant in the United States, where they coincided with the Thanksgiving travel period.
Market reaction
In financial markets, Airbus shares have declined by more than 6.5% over the past five days, following the sequence of safety-related developments.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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