CAAV Director Uong Viet Dung told VnExpress that 81 of the 169 A320/A321 aircraft currently operating domestically fall under the requirement for software updates.
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The Airbus A321 of Vietjet takes off from Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport in October 2024. Photo by IMAGO via Reuters |
On Friday evening, Airbus issued an emergency alert and announced the recall of 6,000 A320-family aircraft, equivalent to half of its global fleet in operation.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also required all A319, A320 and A321 aircraft to replace or update their flight control system software before 6.59 a.m. Sunday.
Grounding Airbus aircraft may disrupt operational plans in the coming days, but the CAAV said that this is an unavoidable situation and that efforts will be made to reduce delays and cancellations as much as possible.
To maintain continuous operations, the CAAV has ordered airlines to review their entire schedules, particularly for Sunday and Monday, the period when many aircraft must be taken out of service for updates.
Airlines must also proactively adjust flight schedules, control operating capacity and promptly inform passengers through all channels to avoid unexpected disruptions.
The authority emphasized airlines’ obligations to support affected passengers, including adjusting itineraries, arranging the next available flights, issuing refunds or allowing flight changes at no additional cost.
Carriers must also comply fully with passenger care regulations and coordinate in sharing technical resources to shorten the time required to meet EASA’s directive.
Aviation infrastructure units have also been placed on standby. Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), Van Don International Airport and the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation have been instructed to coordinate to ensure safety at airports, while assisting passengers when schedule adjustments occur.
The CAAV ordered airlines to prepare adequate equipment, software and personnel to meet EASA and Airbus requirements as quickly as possible, while reviewing daily operating plans to minimize the risk of cancellations.
It also urged carriers to manage operations flexibly and proactively in all scenarios to ensure flight safety and limit impacts on passengers.
Airbus’s global recall, which has put the aviation industry into disarrays with many flights canceled, comes after a JetBlue plane’s nose dropped for several seconds without the pilot’s input during a flight in October, according to European Union Aviation Safety Agency, as reported by Canada-based news agency CBC.
