Landing "destabilized by the preceding aircraft"?
Flew into Paris CDG* on Monday on an Air France A321. Following a smooth and uneventful descent in apparently calm conditions, we had crossed the airport perimeter and were above the runway - I would guess 2 or 3 seconds from touchdown, whatever height that would be - when the plane rolled abruptly to the left and seemed to be shunted sideways. It rolled back to level, descended for an instant, then the engines roared and we shot back into the sky. Wheels didn't touch, but it must have been close.
Once we'd leveled off and begun the long trek back to re-start the approach, the captain announced on the PA that we had had to go around because we had been "destabilized by the preceding aircraft". I've never heard this before. Does it mean wake turbulence? I would have thought that by the time the preceding aircraft had cleared the runway, any wake would have dissipated. Just curious, if any of the pilots here can explain.
(* I recommend against this - the airport is a complete shambles in every respect. I think I'll address that in another thread...)