Thousands of Airbus Planes Impacted as Sun Radiation Hits Software, Flight Controls

Airbus has initiated an urgent recall impacting up to 6,000 of its A320-family aircraft, following the discovery of a critical software issue linked to solar radiation interference, a move that threatens significant travel disruptions worldwide.

The affected aircraft, among the most widely flown in commercial aviation, require immediate software updates to address a vulnerability in their flight control systems.

The issue was brought to light after a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark, New Jersey, experienced a sudden loss of altitude on October 30, injuring several passengers and forcing an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida. Investigators later traced the anomaly to a malfunction in the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), which manages aircraft pitch via pilot input.

This recall is among the largest in Airbus’ history and marks a major operational setback just weeks after the A320 overtook Boeing’s 737 as the world’s most-delivered commercial jet. The fly-by-wire technology that made the A320 revolutionary in its time now underscores the risks of software dependency in modern aviation.

Airbus said the directive applies to a “significant number” of planes and must be implemented before their routine flight, creating a logistical challenge for carriers as the U.S. and other regions enter peak holiday travel periods. There are approximately 11,300 A320-family aircraft in service globally, with the core A320 model alone accounting for 6,440 of those.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected to issue an emergency airworthiness directive mandating the software change. Airbus said the fix is expected to take two hours per aircraft for the majority of the fleet. However, roughly 1,000 older jets will require hardware modifications, leading to prolonged groundings.

American Airlines confirmed that 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft are affected. “We expect the majority of those fixes to be complete today and tomorrow,” the airline told Reuters, noting each update requires two hours. Delta Air Lines expects the directive will apply to a small portion of its Airbus A320 family fleet.

British Airways, meanwhile, said only three of its aircraft are impacted, with fixes scheduled overnight to avoid disruption. “We do not expect this to affect operations,” a British Airways spokesperson told Sky News.

Other carriers are facing greater challenges. EasyJet stated it anticipates “some disruption” and will affected customers directly, while Colombia’s Avianca announced a 10-day halt in ticket sales to manage the fleet grounding.

A spokesperson from United Airlines told Newsweek the company has not been affected by the recall.

Airbus in a press statement on Friday: "Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly. This AOT will be reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)."

The recall comes during a peak holiday travel weekend, which could disrupt schedules if planes need extra downtime. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Update 11/28/2025, 5:09 p.m. ET. This article was updated with additional information.