Airbus requests software update for thousands of aircraft over solar radiation concerns

Global Flight Disruptions Linked to Airbus A320 Safety Measures

Air travel around the world faced significant delays and cancellations after Airbus announced mandatory repairs for approximately 6,000 aircraft from its A320 series, as reported by The Guardian.

Airbus explained that this decision follows findings from a recent incident involving one of its A320 Family jets. The company revealed that high levels of solar radiation could interfere with essential flight control data, potentially compromising aircraft safety.

According to Reuters, the incident that prompted this action involved a JetBlue flight on October 30, traveling from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey. During the flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of altitude and was forced to divert for an emergency landing in Tampa.

The Federal Aviation Administration has responded by issuing an urgent airworthiness directive. This order requires affected planes to revert to previous software versions before resuming operations. Additionally, Airbus stated that a smaller group of aircraft will also need hardware replacements to address the issue.