Global operations for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft have swiftly returned to normal following a critical software update that was rolled out faster than initially anticipated.
The Solar Radiation Alert
The urgent situation began on Friday, 1 December 2025, when Airbus issued a safety alert. This warning came after an analysis of a JetBlue A320 flight from Cancun to Newark on 30 October. The investigation indicated that "intense solar radiation" could corrupt vital data within the aircraft's flight control systems. This corruption was linked to a sudden loss of altitude that forced the plane to divert to Tampa, injuring at least 15 passengers.
A Coordinated Global Response
In response, aviation regulators, including America's watchdog and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), issued emergency orders mandating immediate software modifications. The issue was traced to the ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer) system, which controls the aircraft's pitch.
Airbus confirmed that the fix, which involved reverting to an earlier software version, took just two to three hours for most aircraft. By Monday, the "vast majority" of the approximately 6,000 affected A320s worldwide had been updated. Dozens of airlines executed the retrofit over the weekend.
"We are working with our airline customers to support the modification of less than 100 remaining aircraft to ensure they can be returned to service," Airbus stated, also apologising for passenger delays.
Disruption and Recovery
The weekend saw travel disruption as carriers grounded planes for updates. However, many airlines, including easyJet and Wizz Air, completed their fleets without cancelling flights, revising down initial impact estimates.
Some disruption continued into Monday. JetBlue cancelled 20 flights as it worked on its fleet, while Colombia's Avianca Airlines paused bookings for dates until 8 December.
In a separate development, industry sources revealed on Monday that Airbus discovered an industrial quality issue affecting fuselage panels on several dozen A320-family aircraft, delaying some deliveries. There are no indications this flaw has reached aircraft already in service.
The A320, the world's bestselling single-aisle aircraft and a direct rival to Boeing's 737 MAX, has now largely overcome this swift but significant software challenge.
