The Karnataka State Travel Operators Association (KSTOA) has warned of a crisis if disruptions in Airbus A320 flights last beyond 15 days. K. Radhakrishna Holla, KSTOA president, told The Hindu, “The aviation sector forms the backbone of tourism, particularly for taxi and cab drivers, hotel operators, tour agencies, and other allied services.” He noted that the grounding of many A320 aircraft on domestic and international routes is already causing a ripple effect. Mr. Holla said the effects are visible on the ground with fewer foreign tourists arriving, a sharp rise in airfares, and lower hotel bookings. He said, "Tour operators, cab services, guides, homestay owners, and other allied sectors are reporting mounting losses. Just Saturday, many passengers who had booked cabs cancelled their rides after airlines cancelled their flights. Several cab owners have complained that such last-minute cancellations are causing drivers to lose income." He stressed the hardship faced by daily-wage earners linked closely to tourists. “This is not merely an aircraft problem, it is a livelihood problem. When flights stop, tourism stops. And when tourism stops, thousands who depend on it, especially taxi and cab drivers, are pushed to the brink. If this disruption continues for another 15 days to a month, Karnataka travel operators could witness an employment crisis on a scale we have not seen in recent years,” he warned. KSTOA also fears that the drop in tourism revenues will hurt Karnataka’s fragile post-pandemic recovery. The Airbus A320 grounding started after Airbus said intense solar radiation might corrupt critical flight control data. This led to a software fix requirement causing operational disruptions. India’s aviation regulator ordered grounding of A320s without the update by Sunday. Major airlines rushed to apply the fix. The alert came after a JetBlue flight from Mexico to Newark had an uncontrolled brief descent on October 30, traced to the aircraft’s Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC). The ELAC manages pilot commands to control the plane’s pitch. This disruption in the A320 fleet has set off alarm bells for Karnataka’s tourism sector that deeply depends on seamless flights.