In a significant development, major Indian carriers Air India and IndiGo have warned passengers of potential flight delays and schedule changes following an emergency safety directive from European regulators concerning a critical control malfunction in Airbus A320 family aircraft. 

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued the global mandate, which affects over 6,000 planes worldwide, after a preliminary investigation linked a fault in the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC) to an incident in October where a JetBlue aircraft experienced an uncommanded drop in altitude.

Both airlines have commenced mandatory maintenance to comply with the directive, acknowledging that the work will impact daily operations. 

Air India has put out an official statement acknowleding the directive, stating that the required “software/hardware realignment” on a portion of its fleet would lead to “longer turnaround time and delays to our scheduled operations.”