Flight delays, cancellations likely over issue with A320 family aircraft; over 200 planes impacted
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New Delhi (PTI): IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express flight operations will see disruptions as they work on fixing a potential issue related to flight controls in their A320 family planes and 200-250 aircraft will be impacted in the country, according to sources.
Airbus on Friday said intense solar radiation might corrupt data critical to flight controls in a significant number of A320 family aircraft and that the software changes required to fix the issue would lead to operational disruptions.
With many of the narrow-body A320 family planes of the domestic carriers set to undergo software changes or in some cases hardware realignment, there will be operational disruptions as the aircraft have to be grounded, the sources said.
Indian operators have about 560 A320 family aircraft and 200-250 of them will need software changes or hardware realignment, they added.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said Airbus asked airline operators to install a serviceable Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC) in the impacted aircraft.
Generally, ELAC is for flight controls.
EASA has directed that the issue should be addressed before the next flight to be operated by the impacted aircraft by replacing or modifying the affected ELAC.
On Saturday, the country's largest airline IndiGo said it is aware of a notification issued by Airbus, the manufacturer of the majority of our fleet, pertaining to the A320 family planes.
"We are working closely with Airbus to ensure implementation as per Airbus notification. While we carry out the necessary inspections, we are making every effort to minimise disruptions," it said in a statement.
In a statement Air India Express said, "We have initiated immediate precautionary action in response to an alert requiring a software fix on the Airbus A320 fleet. While a majority of our aircraft are not impacted, the guidance applies to operators worldwide and may result in adjustments to flight operations, including potential delays or cancellations."
A source said that 31 A320 family planes of Air India Express will be impacted.
In a post on X, Air India said it is aware of an Airbus directive related to its A320 family aircraft currently in-service across airline operators.
"This will result in a software/hardware realignment on a part of our fleet, leading to longer turnaround time and delays to our scheduled operations.
"Air India regrets any inconvenience this may cause to passengers till the reset is carried out across the fleet," the airline said.
The three airlines did not disclose the number of aircraft that have been impacted.
A320 family aircraft includes A319s, A320 ceos and neos, A321 ceos and neos.
In an Emergency Airworthiness Directive, EASA said Airbus has asked airline operators to install a serviceable ELAC in the impacted aircraft.
Airbus said an analysis of a recent event involving an A320 family aircraft has 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," it said in a release.
Airbus said it acknowledges these recommendations 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."
The aircraft maker said it has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly.
According to the EASA, an Airbus A320 aeroplane recently experienced an uncommanded and limited pitch down event.
"The autopilot remained engaged throughout the event, with a brief and limited loss of altitude, and the rest of the flight was uneventful.
"Preliminary technical assessment done by Airbus identified a malfunction of the affected ELAC as possible contributing factor," it said.
This condition, if not corrected, could lead in the worst-case scenario to an uncommanded elevator movement that may result in exceeding the aircraft's structural capability, the EASA said.
It added that to address the potential unsafe condition, a serviceable ELAC has to be installed in the impacted planes.
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RBI does not target any band for rupee, allows it to find its own level: Guv Malhotra
Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
The governor's statement came at a time when the rupee breached the 90-mark against the US dollar, and is hovering near that level.
"We don't target any price levels or any bands. We allow the markets to determine the prices. We believe that markets, especially in the long run, are very efficient. It's a very deep market," he said while replying to a question on rupee depreciation at a post-monetary policy press meet.
Malhotra said fluctuations in the market keep taking place, and the effort of the RBI is always to reduce any abnormal or excessive volatility.
"And that is what we will continue to endeavour," he added.
In its bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI announced three-year USD/INR Buy Sell swaps of USD 5 billion this month.
When asked if the USD-INR swap is aimed at checking rupee depreciation, Malhotra said, "It is a liquidity measure. It is not to support the rupee".
Stressing that RBI does not target any level of rupee against the US dollar, he said the central bank allows "the rupee find its correct position, correct level".
The governor further said the country has sufficient foreign exchange reserves and the current account is manageable, and given the strong fundamentals of the economy, the country should witness good capital flows going forward.
Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) to India recorded a net outflow of USD 0.7 billion in 2025-26, so far (April-December 03), due to unabated withdrawal from the equity segment.
Flows under external commercial borrowings and non-resident deposit accounts moderated compared to the last year.
As of November 28, 2025, India's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 686.2 billion, providing a robust import cover of more than 11 months.
The governor further said that, having reduced the policy rate (repo) by 25 basis points, the focus will now be on transmission of the rate cut to the real economy.
According to the RBI's November bulletin, the depreciation of the rupee in October was due to a stronger dollar, following the US Fed's policy announcement to lower the Federal funds rate.
Nevertheless, strong fundamentals, such as stable inflation, a resilient growth outlook for the Indian economy, a narrower current account deficit, steady services exports, robust private remittances, and robust foreign exchange reserves, have contributed to the rupee being the least volatile among emerging market and developing economies.
The rupee has performed better than the Euro, and its depreciation has been in line with that of other currencies, such as the Japanese Yen and the Korean Won (for April to November 2025-26).
The central bank has announced various measures over the last 3 years to diversify and expand the sources of foreign exchange funding, aiming to mitigate exchange rate volatility and dampen global spillovers.
The RBI bi-monthly policy in October had announced some measures to enhance the use of the rupee in international trade.
