France-based aerospace giant, Airbus has confirmed that an unspecified number of its aircraft will be subjected to inspections after a “supplier quality issue” was detected in metal panels fitted on some of its jets.
The issue affects a “limited number” of aircraft within the widely used A320 family and comes just days after thousands of the same model were temporarily grounded for an urgent software fix.
The European plane maker said it has decided to adopt a “conservative approach” by inspecting every aircraft that could potentially be impacted.
Up to 600 planes may require checks, although Airbus told the BBC that not all of them are expected to have defective panels in need of repair.
“The source of the issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements,” the spokesperson explained.
The metal panel problem is located at the front section of the aircraft, where some parts were discovered to be thicker or thinner than they should be.
“This quality issue does not affect the flight safety of the aircraft in question,” the company reassured.
“Only inspections will determine where an aircraft may have panels with quality issues and the appropriate action to be taken.”
Reuters reported that 168 of the affected planes are already in active service. How long repairs might take remains unclear.
Major global airlines operating the A320 family, including British Airways, American Airlines and Lufthansa, have been contacted for comment.
Korean Air told the BBC it is awaiting additional guidance from Airbus to know whether its fleet is included.
Delta Air Lines said its required checks have already been completed, with no impact on flight operations.
“This applies to a small portion of our Airbus A320 family fleet. Specifically, less than 50 A321neo aircraft,” Delta clarified.
The Lufthansa Group, which also owns SWISS, ITA Airways and Eurowings, said Airbus had “actively informed” them about the inspection requirement, affecting 11 recently delivered aircraft.
“Lufthansa will carry out the recommended inspection immediately and is in close contact with the manufacturer,” the airline stated.
“We would like to point out that the safety of the aircraft is guaranteed at all times and that there are no operational effects.”
This development follows a separate major intervention earlier in the week, when thousands of Airbus jets were grounded to install a software update. Intense solar radiation was found to interfere with flight control computers, an issue exposed after a U.S.–Mexico flight experienced a sudden altitude drop that injured 15 passengers.
More than 6,000 aircraft required the emergency fix, triggering widespread travel disruptions and flight cancellations during a peak travel period, including the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
Shares in Airbus have fallen by more than 6.5% over the past five days.
