Jetstar has cancelled several flights in Tasmania as part of a global grounding affecting thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft.
Multiple services across Hobart and Launceston airports were scrapped on Saturday morning after the European manufacturer issued an urgent safety directive.
Two flights were cancelled at Launceston – the 7:50am to Sydney and 8:25am to Melbourne. Hobart’s 10:55am Brisbane service was also axed, while several flights into the afternoon have now also been cancelled.
The grounding follows an incident in October involving a JetBlue A320 in the United States, which experienced a sudden loss of altitude before making an emergency landing in Tampa.
Several passengers required hospital treatment.
Airbus said its analysis found “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls”.
Operators have now been instructed to install software updates or hardware protections on about 6,000 aircraft worldwide – roughly half the global A320 fleet.
For most aircraft, the fix involves reverting to earlier software versions, allowing a relatively quick return to service.
However, hundreds of jets may require hardware changes that could take weeks.
Air New Zealand has grounded its entire A320neo fleet as a precautionary measure.
Jetstar said it was working to minimise passenger disruption.
“To respond to a precautionary action from Airbus, we have cancelled some Jetstar Airways flights,” the airline said.
“Our teams are working on options to get customers on their way as quickly as possible and are contacting affected customers directly.”
The A320 family is the world’s most widely used commercial aircraft, with approximately 11,300 in service globally.
Passengers with upcoming travel are advised to check their flight status with their airline.
Full list of cancellations (as of 11am Saturday):
Hobart Arrivals:
JQ755 Brisbane, 10:15am
JQ705 Melbourne, 1:15pm
JQ721 Sydney. 1:35pm
Hobart Departures
JQ756 Brisbane, 10:55am
JQ704 Melbourne, 2pm
JQ720 Sydney, 2:15pm
Launceston Arrivals:
JQ747 Sydney, 7:50am
JQ733 Melbourne, 8:25am
JQ737 Melbourne, 12:40pm
Launceston Departures:
QF2070 Melbourne, 6:30am
JQ748 Sydney, 8:30am
JQ734 Melbourne, 9:05am
JQ738 Melbourne, 1:20pm
