Airbus flags A320 fuselage quality issue

European aviation company Airbus has said it is inspecting panels on a number of its A320 aircraft after quality control problems were identified, only days after rushing to fix a separate software glitch affecting about 6,000 of the planes.

In a statement on Monday, Airbus said it had "identified a supplier quality issue affecting a limited number" of metal panels on the single-aisle A320 aircraft.

The company, which sources parts and components from thousands of outside suppliers, said it was adopting a "conservative approach" and inspecting all aircraft that could potentially be affected.

Up to 600 of the A320s, a model widely used by airlines, will require checks, though not all are expected to have faulty panels, an Airbus spokesperson told the BBC.

He said: "The source of the issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements."

The spokesperson said the "supplier quality issue" is at the front of the aircraft, where in some cases panels were found to be overly thick or too thin.

Airbus said: "This quality issue does not affect the flight safety of the aircraft in question. Only inspections will determine where an aircraft may have panels with quality issues and the appropriate action to be taken."

Reuters reported on Wednesday that 168 in-service jets require the quality inspections, and the timeline for repairs remains unclear.

The latest Airbus announcement, which came only hours after the company confirmed the software glitch had been mostly resolved with an update, knocked the firm's stock value. Airbus shares fell more than 6.5 percent in five days reported the BBC.

Earlier on Monday, Airbus said most of its fleet of 6,000 A320 passenger jets had received an update to fix the software fault that could have affected flight controls.

Heading into the weekend, travelers faced minor disruptions as airlines worldwide scrambled to push the software updates to the widely used commercial jetliner.

Airbus had first flagged the software issue on Friday, as millions of passengers in the United States were in transit for Thanksgiving, which is the country's busiest travel period.

In its update, the planemaker said the "vast majority" of the short-haul passenger jets in service "have now received the necessary modifications".

"We are working with our airline customers to support the modification of less than 100 remaining aircraft to ensure they can be returned to service," it stated. "Airbus apologizes for any challenges and delays caused to passengers and airlines by this event."

The company said it had discovered that "intense solar radiation" could corrupt data that is critical to the functioning of flight controls.

Officials suspect the issue contributed to a sudden altitude drop on a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico to Newark, New Jersey in the US, on Oct 30, which injured at least 15 passengers, some of whom were taken to hospitals for treatment.

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com