A preliminary analysis of the Airbus directive, conducted by Rosaviatsiya, showed that the manufacturer's identified problems with the quality of metal panels do not affect the A320 family aircraft operated by Russian air carriers.
All Russian Airbus A320s in commercial operation were manufactured before the defect was detected or assembled using components supplied by other suppliers not involved in the incident. In addition, most of the fleet of these aircraft in Russia are former leased aircraft imported before 2022 and have undergone independent technical verification. In this regard, none of the domestic operators received instructions for unscheduled inspections, and the airworthiness of the Russian A320 fleet has been confirmed in full.
According to sources, the European aircraft manufacturer has confirmed the presence of defects in metal panels that were supplied by one of the subcontractors and are used in the Airbus A320 design. The company said that it is currently inspecting all aircraft that could potentially be affected by this problem. However, the company clarified that only some of the aircraft will require corrective action.
