Thousands of Airbus planes have been grounded after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers, leading to delays around the world.
The company has ordered urgent software modifications for a substantial portion of its A320 fleet following the discovery that intense solar radiation can compromise its vital flight control systems.
The aircraft manufacturing giant confirmed up to 6,000 aircraft require immediate attention - and warned that some jets could "lose their flight controls".
The directive affects more than half the worldwide A320 fleet and must be implemented before aircraft can undertake their next scheduled flights.
The UK's aviation regulator has predicted "some disruption and cancellations to flights" - but the impact at airports appeared to be limited over Friday night.
GB News understands EasyJet, British Airways, American Airlines, Air Indian, Lufthansa, Wizz Air and Avianca are among those affected by the issue.
Airbus said it discovered the issue after looking into why a plane flying between the US and Mexico suddenly lost altitude in October.
While the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)'s Giancarlo Bruno said: "We appreciate the disruption this may cause to some people flying over the coming days.
"Passengers should check with their airline whether their flights are affected. Airlines have a duty of care to look after passengers when a flight is delayed."
Airbus has requested urgent modifications be made to thousands of planes following the discovery of a critcial software issue
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The EU's Aviation Safety Agency is also preparing to issue an emergency directive requiring airlines to comply with the modifications.
"Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls," the plane maker said in a statement.
"Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in service which may be impacted."
Airlines have begun implementing the required modifications, with American Airlines reporting that 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft need the software replacement.
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An Airbus spokesman acknowledged the measures would cause significant disruptions for passengers
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The carrier expects most repairs to be completed within two days, with each aircraft requiring approximately two hours of maintenance work.
The triggering event occurred on October 30 when JetBlue Flight 1230 experienced severe difficulties while travelling from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey.
A flight control malfunction forced pilots to execute an emergency landing at Tampa, Florida.
According to a bulletin reviewed by Reuters, the problem stems from the ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer) system, which transmits commands from the pilot's controls to the aircraft's elevators.
These components govern the plane's pitch angle and nose position.
The affected system controls the A320's fly-by-wire technology, which replaced traditional mechanical linkages between cockpit controls and flight surfaces with computer-interpreted commands.
When pilots manipulate the side-stick, the ELAC computer processes these inputs and directs the elevators and ailerons accordingly.
This vulnerability affects the A320 family, which pioneered mainstream fly-by-wire systems when the original model entered service in 1987.
Solar radiation has caused the major software erro
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The recall represents one of the most extensive in Airbus's 55-year history, affecting approximately 11,300 operational A320-family aircraft globally.
The timing proves especially problematic during one of the year's busiest travel periods.
At the time of Airbus's announcement, roughly 3,000 A320-family aircraft were airborne worldwide, underscoring the recall's unprecedented scale.
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