Airbus software upgrades for Philippine carriers to be completed by November 30

Passengers flying on Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft in the Philippines can expect normal operations to resume by noon on Sunday (November 30) after airlines carried out mandatory software upgrades, according to the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (ACAP).

The updates, which were implemented urgently following a global advisory, have caused widespread flight delays and cancellations since Saturday. Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the updates were prompted by a precautionary recommendation from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to ensure passenger and crew safety.

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"We preferred and deemed it best to take this precautionary measure because the priority of the Department of Transportation is the safety of passengers. However, we apologise for the inconvenience caused by the cancelled flights," Lopez said, as reported by Philstar.com.

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The advisory, sent to Philippine authorities at 1am on Saturday (9pm, Friday, UAE time), affects 75 aircraft across Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia. Globally, an estimated 6,000 A320 and A321 jets require the update. Each aircraft takes about two hours to complete the software installation, Lopez added.

Meanwhile, ACAP Executive Director Josen Perez de Tagle said that airline operators are doing their best to notify passengers and minimise disruptions.

"Given this software update, that was mandatory that we needed to do, we’d like to assure the public that the airlines are doing its best to notify everyone in order to minimise the impact of the system upgrade," Tagle said.

To ease the impact of delays, airlines have offered refunds, rebookings, and e-vouchers. Stranded passengers at airports have also received food, drinks, and medicine.

Elizabeth Gonzales

elizabeth@khaleejtimes.com

Elizabeth Gonzales is a Digital Journalist who loves writing about the expat life — and ways to make the most of it. When she's not looking for new hacks to share with readers, you may find her giving them a real laugh at one of her stand-up comic events.