Airbus says quality problem found in some A320 metal panels

It comes days after plane maker found software glitch that affected about 6,000 jets

The A320 is Airbus's most popular model and a workhorse of the industry. AFP

Airbus said on Monday that it had identified a quality problem in metal panels on some of its A320 jets, days after it found a software glitch that affected about 6,000 jets worldwide.

The European plane maker that the source of the problem has been identified and contained.

“Airbus is taking a conservative approach and is inspecting all aircraft potentially impacted – knowing that only a portion of them will need further action to be taken,” it said in a statement.

“All newly produced panels conform to all requirements,” it added.

Airbus did not provide details about how many jets were affected by the supplier quality problem.

The company's shares were down nearly 6 per cent at 6.50pm UAE time on Monday, after dropping by more than 10 per cent earlier in the day in the wake of a Reuters report about the problem.

That came after the company said on Monday that the “vast majority” of its A320 fleet affected by the software problem have undergone the necessary modifications, with less than 100 of 6,000 aircraft still to be returned to service.

The recall came after Airbus on Friday said its analysis found that “intense solar radiation” may possibly corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls on the jet. The move was the biggest recall in the company's 55-year history. More than 100 UAE-registered aircraft were affected by the directive, according to the General Civil Aviation Authority.

The single-aisle A320 is Airbus's most popular model and a workhorse of the aviation industry. The A320 family has received more than 19,000 orders globally, the company said this month.

Airbus aims to deliver 820 aircraft this year, it said in February. Last year, the plane maker delivered 766 commercial aircraft to 86 customers and registered 878 gross new orders.