Global airlines are making short-term adjustments after Airbus confirmed that strong solar radiation can interfere with flight-control data on certain A320 Family aircraft.
The finding prompted aviation regulators worldwide to issue precautionary instructions, but most operators are expected to work through the fix with limited disruption.
Screenshot via EASA Newsroom & Events
On November 28, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) released an Emergency Airworthiness Directive, asking airlines to apply immediate software or hardware protections to affected aircraft, approximately 6,000 worldwide.
The move follows Airbus’ own alert, which flagged that a segment of the global A320 fleet may be susceptible to radiation-related data corruption in the ELAC flight-control computer.
Screenshot via Airbus Press Room
The concern traces back to an October 30 incident, when a JetBlue A320 near Tampa experienced an unexpected pitch-down.
The aircraft quickly stabilized, but the event led investigators to a software vulnerability under extreme radiation conditions.
Airbus and regulators have since instructed operators to roll back to an earlier ELAC software version.
For most airlines, the update is straightforward.
Multiple advisories indicate the software rollback takes around 2–3 hours per aircraft, allowing many carriers to handle the process within normal maintenance cycles.
Only a small number of older jets will require hardware-based ELAC units, which may take a bit more time to replace.
Mainland China—one of the largest A320 markets, with 2,015 aircraft in service—has moved accordingly. Several carriers, including those operating all-A320 fleets, have begun implementing the update during regular overnight maintenance windows.
Because China does not operate red-eye domestic flights, airlines can use the midnight–6am non-flying period to complete software rollbacks and system checks without affecting daytime schedules.
So far, there’s no sign of widespread disruption. Airlines across the mainland are working through the directive in batches, keeping overall operations stable.
[Cover image via Airbus homepage]
