Airbus system upgrade disrupting PH flights to be completed by Sunday

MANILA, Philippines — The Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (ACAP) assured passengers that all system upgrades on Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft in the country will be fully completed by noon on Sunday, November 30.

In a statement released on Saturday, November 29, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said airline operators, together with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), are working urgently to complete the upgrades, following a global technical advisory from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has instructed the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and CAAP to ensure passenger safety and provide immediate assistance amid widespread flight cancellations affecting Philippine carriers.

Lopez said the EASA recommendation is a precautionary measure to guarantee the safety of passengers, crew and flight operations before the aircraft are deployed.

“This is a global occurrence. So, buong mundo po ang estimate nasa 6,000 aircraft. Sa atin po [locally] between and among Cebu Pacific, PAL and AirAsia, we have 75 aircrafts that are affected. Nag-usap kami ng mga airlines kasama po ang CAAP, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) at minabuti po namin na isagawa agad ‘yung software upgrade,” Lopez said during a joint press briefing.

(This is a global occurrence. Worldwide, an estimated 6,000 aircraft are affected. Locally, among Cebu Pacific, PAL and AirAsia, we have 75 aircrafts that are affected. We have coordinated with the airlines, together with the CAAP and the Civil Aeronautics Board and decided to immediately carry out the software upgrades.)

According to the transport chief, Airbus sent the software update advisory to Philippine authorities at 1 a.m. Saturday, with upgrades immediately installed to reduce passenger inconvenience. Each aircraft’s upgrade takes approximately two hours to complete.

“Mas ninais at minabuti namin na gawin ang precautionary measure kasi po ang nangingibabaw po sa Kagawaran ng Transportasyon ay ang kaligtasan ng mga pasahero. Gayunman, kami po ay humihingi ng paumanhin dahil may mga flights na na-cancel,” Lopez said.

(We preferred and deemed it best to take this precautionary measure because the priority of the Department of Transportation is the safety of passengers. However, we apologize for the inconvenience caused by the canceled flights.)

Meanwhile, ACAP Executive Director Josen Perez de Tagle said that airline operators are doing their best to notify passengers and minimize disruptions.

“Given this software update, that was mandatory that we needed to do, we’d like to assure the public that the airlines are doing its best na ma-notify lahat para ma-minimize 'yung effect ng system upgrade,” De Tagle said.

(Given this software update, that was mandatory that we needed to do, we’d like to assure the public that the airlines are doing its best to notify everyone in order to minimize the impact of the system upgrade.)

Carriers have offered refunds, rebookings and e-vouchers while stranded passengers at airports were provided food, drinks and medicine.

After the briefing, Lopez visited Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to personally check on passenger conditions.

Flight control issue

Airbus instructed its clients on Friday to take “immediate precautionary action” after finding that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight control systems. 

The plane involved, operated by JetBlue, suddenly nosedived mid-flight from Cancun to Newark, prompting an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida. Some passengers were reportedly injured.

The EASA said the issue could cause short-term disruptions to flight schedules but emphasized that safety remains paramount. 

Airbus also acknowledged that implementing the upgrades would lead to operational disruptions, apologizing for the inconvenience. — with a report from Agence France-Presse