Khaberni - Many countries announced on Saturday the required inspection and maintenance measures following the emergency airworthiness notification issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency "EASA" related to the Airbus A320 fleet worldwide.
For its part, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that all national airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft have currently commenced the required inspection and maintenance procedures.
The authority confirmed that it is directly monitoring these measures with the European agency and the relevant operating companies to ensure full compliance with all safety and airworthiness requirements, ensuring the continued secure operation of the fleet and unaffected air traffic in the country.
The authority also affirmed the commitment of all operating companies to monitor and implement any technical updates issued by the manufacturers or competent authorities, while the regulatory control system in the UAE continues to ensure the immediate and effective application of all safety directives according to the highest international standards approved in the civil aviation sector.
In this context, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announced that a number of Airbus A320 aircraft registered in the Kingdom are subject to the precautionary airworthiness directive issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
The authority explained that this directive was issued by the civil aviation authority of the design country, and it applies to a number of A320 type aircraft registered in the Kingdom and operated by some national airlines, in accordance with civil aviation safety regulations.
It also confirmed that this step comes in the framework of applying the highest standards of air safety, and that safety remains a top priority in the Kingdom's civil aviation system.
On its part, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement on Saturday that software upgrades and required modifications have been made to address a potential issue related to flight controls in over half of India's Airbus A320 fleet of 338 aircraft.
The agency reported from informed sources that no flight cancellations occurred, but there were some delays between 60-90 minutes for some flights as the software updates for the affected aircraft were carried out.
EgyptAir also announced on Saturday the formation of a specialized work team to monitor updates from "Airbus" and to take all immediate precautionary measures, in addition to assessing any potential impact on operational schedules.
Airbus company said on Friday that an inspection following the accident of a JetBlue aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation could affect the sensitive data related to the operation of flight control elements in Airbus A320 aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration in the United States joined the European Union's Aviation Safety Agency in requesting airlines to address the issue using a new software update.
In Japan, All Nippon Airways, which operates more than 30 aircraft, canceled 65 domestic flights scheduled for today, Saturday.
