Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – Despite a worldwide safety advisory issued by Airbus concerning potential solar radiation interference with aircraft systems, Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) has confirmed uninterrupted operations across its entire airport network. Both domestic and international flights continue to function normally without significant disruptions.
Luis José López, Director of Corporate Communications at Aerodom, stated that all scheduled flights for Saturday operated according to plan, with arrivals and departures at Las Américas International Airport proceeding smoothly. While acknowledging the possibility of minor delays in coming hours, López emphasized that Aerodom is maintaining close collaboration with aviation authorities and airline partners to minimize potential passenger impact.
The airport operator has enhanced its real-time communication protocols with airline representatives and operational teams to ensure rapid coordination and transparent passenger notifications if conditions evolve.
The global alert originated from Airbus’s identification of newly discovered risks that extreme solar radiation events could potentially disrupt flight control computers in specific aircraft models. The manufacturer issued urgent maintenance recommendations for approximately 6,000 A319, A320, and A321 aircraft worldwide following an October 30 incident involving a JetBlue A320 on the Cancun-Newark route. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Tampa after experiencing sudden altitude loss.
Recent developments indicate that thousands of affected aircraft have already resumed normal service. The majority required only straightforward software updates, while approximately 900 older units need hardware replacements. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot reported that updates have been successfully completed on over 5,000 aircraft with minimal complications, with fewer than 100 aircraft remaining pending—many of which have received overnight software implementations.
