Airbus finds new issue with planes just days after software bug sparks flight chaos

The company said it has now discovered a 'quality issue' with metal fuselage panels on multiple A320 models.

It means all potentially affected aircraft would be checked, according to Airbus. although it is hoped most will not require further action.

"Airbus confirms it has identified a quality issue affecting a limited number of A320 metal panels. The source of the issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements," an Airbus spokesman told Reuters.

They added that an unnamed supplier was reponsible for the issue, which was reportedly related to quality control rather than safety, with no indication hat any of the issues impacted aircraft currently service.

It comes after around 6,000 planes were affected by a software glitch earlier this week, with around half of the aviation giant's European fleet.

Travellers were hit by disruption over the weekend as airlines cancelled flights to while the issue was being fixed.

Airbus admitted almost a thousand planes were grounded as it revealed urgent repairs were required.

The fault was discovered when a JetBlue flight from Mexico to the US had a sudden drop in altitude and was forced to make an emergency landing which saw 15 people injured.

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WizzAir and EasyJet were among the major UK airlines affected by the software issues.

The fault is understood to have been caused by solar radiation corrupting data in a computer which helps control the aircraft.

Tim Johnson from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority said that there would be disruptions to flights "in some circumstances".

"From a UK perspective, not all airlines fly Airbus A320 or the affected ones, so for some airlines there will be no impact at all," he said.

"For some, there may be some impact," he continued, adding that the CAA has been in touch with airlines and they're looking to make sure the maintenance is undertaken over the coming days.

Jet2.com said it was "installing software updates on a very small number of aircraft" in its fleet, adding: "We can confirm there will be no impact to our flying programme as a result."

Giancarlo Buono, director of Aviation Safety at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: "We have been made aware of an issue that may affect some of the A320 family of aircraft and the precautionary action that EASA has taken.

"We appreciate the disruption this may cause to some people flying over the coming days.

"Passengers should check with their airline whether their flights are affected.

"Airlines have a duty of care to look after passengers when a flight is delayed."

However, Airbus fleets returned to normal operations faster than expected after the software issue was fixed at pace.

But some jets will require new hardware and will be affected for longer, the company admitted.