ANA Cancels 95 Domestic Flights over Airbus Maintenance

Tokyo, Nov. 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s All Nippon Airways canceled 95 domestic flights on Saturday due to necessary software maintenance for its Airbus A320 and A321 jets. The cancellations affected around 13,200 people. The airline, a unit of ANA Holdings Inc., decided to cancel six flights on Sunday as well. Citing a possible failure in the flight control functions of its A320 series jets, European aircraft maker Airbus asked airlines around the world on Friday to immediately repair the planes’ software. ANA has begun fixing its 34 planes in the series. The airline said that the work takes about four hours per plane. The flights canceled on Saturday included those flying in and out of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, New Chitose Airport near Sapporo in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido and Fukuoka Airport in southwestern Japan. ANA offered replacement flights, including on other airlines, or refunds to affected passengers. It released a statement apologizing for the delays and cancellations caused by the issue. Star Flyer and low-cost carrier Peach Aviation also own A320 series jets, but neither airline is expected to cancel flights. Japan Airlines does not operate the affected models. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]