Airbus on Friday asked airlines to take immediate action to upgrade software on A320 family aircraft after finding a potential flight-control issue. The manufacturer said its analysis of an October 30 incident involving JetBlue Flight 1230 — which dropped suddenly in altitude while flying from Cancún to Newark, causing several injuries — showed that “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.”
Airbus said it has worked with aviation authorities and issued an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) so operators can implement available software and/or hardware protections to ensure the fleet is safe to fly. The company said “a significant number” of A320s in service may be affected.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency ordered an immediate software change for a number of Airbus A320s; the FAA was expected to issue a similar emergency airworthiness directive. NPR contacted the FAA for comment but had not received a response.
The A320 family is now the world’s most-used commercial aircraft, with more than 9,000 planes in service, including about 1,600 in the U.S., according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Airbus warned the required updates could cause operational disruptions for passengers and customers. The directive comes during a busy holiday travel weekend when millions are returning home.
Airline responses:
– American Airlines said it took “swift action” to address the software issue. As of 6 p.m. CT, fewer than 150 aircraft remained to be updated; the carrier expected updates to be completed Friday and Saturday and anticipated some delays while trying to limit cancellations.
– Delta Air Lines said it expects any operational impact to be limited.
– United Airlines initially said its fleet was not affected but later reported six aircraft would be impacted and expected “minor disruption to a few flights.”
– Frontier said it was evaluating Airbus’s notice.
– Allegiant said it is working to minimize delays and will contact affected passengers directly.
– JetBlue said it has begun work on affected planes and is trying to minimize disruptions.
– NPR reached out to Spirit Airlines but had not received a response.
Airbus emphasized safety as the overriding priority while airlines implement the protections. NPR’s Joel Rose contributed to this report.