The technical problem detected by Airbus in 6000 A320 planes also affected the plane of Pope Leo XIV, who is visiting Turkey and Lebanon for the first time, where he is going tomorrow, Sunday.
According to the Spanish newspaper “The Country”, “the company had to send a technician to Istanbul, where the Pontiff’s plane – an Airbus A320 operated by ITA Airways – has been since it arrived in the city last Thursday”. According to a statement released by the Holy See this Saturday, “a component of the aircraft will have to be replaced and the technician who will replace it is going to Istanbul”.
The operation, according to the Italian press, involves the simplest solution to the problem: updating the ‘software’ of the flight program, which takes about three hours. Vatican fountains confirm to “El País” which is the replacement of a monitor, as part of the maintenance that the company is carrying out on aircraft from several airlines around the world.
The issue is expected to be resolved in the afternoon. Airbus has informed ITA Airways, as well as all other airlines, that the work must be completed before midnight on Saturday – otherwise the plane will not be able to fly, says the “The Country”.
The Pope left Rome last Thursday aboard an Airbus A320 bound for Ankara and, after a stopover of a few hours, headed to Istanbul. Accompanying the papal delegation are 82 journalists and media technicians.
Airbus announced on Friday that there are possible failures in the flight control system of its A320 aircraft caused by solar radiation, a problem that, according to the company, “could corrupt data critical to the operation of flight controls”.
As a result, several airlines around the world have experienced delays and cancellations in the last few hours.
Approximately 5100 aircraft require the same upgrade process. ‘software’ than the Pope’s plane. Only the oldest models, as the “The Country”generated greater concern, as they required the physical replacement of on-board computers.
Airlines such as Portugal’s TAP, Belgium’s Brussels Airlines and Spain’s Iberia reported that they do not expect delays or cancellations because they carried out the updates overnight. Others, like American Airlines, have suffered outages.