Airbus announced that up to 628 A320 aircraft could be inspected due to quality issues on metallic panels. The manufacturer clarified that this figure is a maximum estimate and not all planes are necessarily affected. Inspections are ongoing, reducing the number of potentially impacted aircraft.
On Monday, Airbus revealed it had detected quality issues on metallic panels intended for its successful single-aisle A320 aircraft, stating the incident had been identified and contained. Tuesday, the company indicated that up to 628 A320 planes, in production or in service, could undergo inspections. "The total number of potentially affected aircraft, both in production and in service, is decreasing day by day with the progress of inspections allowing to identify those requiring specific action," Airbus told AFP.
The figure of 628 is "an estimate of the maximum number" of aircraft to be inspected, but "this does not mean that all these aircraft are necessarily affected" by the defects. The manufacturer is checking all potentially impacted planes, knowing only a portion will need further interventions. Airbus always proceeds this way when facing quality issues in its supply chain.
This episode follows a recent urgent recall for the A320 related to software vulnerable to solar radiation. In late October, a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark had to make an emergency landing in Tampa after a sudden dive. On Friday, Airbus urged clients to immediately halt flights of about 6000 affected aircraft, but rapid interventions on thousands of planes on December 15 and 16 limited global air traffic disruptions.
The A320, which entered service in 1988, is the world's best-selling commercial civil aircraft, with 12,257 units delivered by the end of September.