Airbus moved swiftly to ground and patch 6,000 A320 family aircraft, nearly half its global fleet, over a critical software vulnerability that could be triggered by solar flares. The rapid recall was launched last Friday, ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends in the United States.
The unprecedented global alert followed an in-flight incident on October 30, when a JetBlue A320 unexpectedly lost altitude. An investigation, confirmed by Reuters, found a flaw in software controlling the aircraft’s nose angle, making it susceptible to disruption from solar flare activity.
Airbus issued an eight-page alert to hundreds of airlines late Friday, making it clear that no affected aircraft could take off without the urgent software update. The timing, coinciding with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend, immediately sparked fears of widespread air travel chaos.
Despite the immense logistical challenge, the operation proceeded “relatively well,” according to reports. Engineers and ground crews worked through the night to implement the necessary fixes and minimize flight disruptions.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury issued a public apology, an extremely rare gesture in the aviation industry. This transparent and decisive action is seen as a deliberate departure from past industry crises.
Observers suggest Airbus’s approach was influenced by the Boeing 737 MAX crisis. That situation saw the American manufacturer face severe criticism for a perceived lack of transparency following two fatal accidents.
The technical fix for the A320 bug involved reinstalling an older, stable version of the software. Airbus estimated the process would take about three hours per aircraft, though some operators completed it more quickly.
The update required a special electronic module connected directly to the cockpit for cybersecurity reasons. Some airlines encountered difficulties due to a shortage of this specialized equipment, complicating efforts to rapidly update their entire fleets.