Airbus orders software fix for 6,000 aircraft over solar radiation risk

Airbus has instructed airlines to update software on about 6,000 of its aircraft—mainly A320 models—after investigations revealed that solar radiation could corrupt flight-control data.

The issue has raised concerns about potential disruptions to global air travel, with several airlines already cancelling or delaying flights on Saturday (November 29).

The directive follows an incident in October, when a JetBlue Airbus flying from Mexico to the United States suddenly lost altitude midair. Investigators found that solar radiation had damaged a data point used by the aircraft’s altitude-control system, forcing an emergency landing.

Airbus says most affected aircraft are being fixed by reverting to an older, stable software version, a process taking roughly two hours per plane. A small number may require hardware replacements, though such cases are described as rare.