Jetstar cancels flights due to Airbus software issue

Jetstar cancelled some of its flights over the weekend due to a software issue affecting Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft globally, which could lead to corrupt data being fed to flight controls.

The airline said in a statement that “some” of its flights would be “unable to depart [Saturday]” because of the “global Airbus A320 software issue”. 

Airbus said that a recent “event” involving an A320 aircraft “revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.”

“Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted,” the aircraft manufacturer said.

“We acknowledge [this] will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. 

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”

Airbus said it had requested “immediate precautionary action from operators … to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly.”

Jetstar said that in order to “respond to a precautionary action from Airbus, we have cancelled some Jetstar flights.”

The airline said that it would struggle to rebook passengers on other flights.

“For customers whose flights are affected, alternative travel options are extremely limited over the coming days due to high demand across the network,” it said.

Jetstar advised impacted customers to use digital self-service channels such as the website and app rather than call its contact centre.

The airline said it would contact impacted passengers  “to advise of your options including a refund to your original form of payment.”

On Sunday, the airline said that the "required Airbus software update has been applied to all affected aircraft."