Airbus A320 software issue and why are 6,000 planes grounded

What's The Cause Behind The Airbus A320 Issue?

On November 28, 2025, Airbus issued a global technical directive, specifically for some of its A320 family aircraft, citing a potential vulnerability to solar radiation that could corrupt flight control data. This results in the grounding of nearly 6,000 A320 aircraft, including its family members, A319s, A320 ceos & neos, and A321 ceos & neos, approximately half of the global fleet, for emergency software fixes. It resulted in global airlines facing massive flight disruptions during the peak US Thanksgiving travel weekend. The aviation authorities have been proactively working to implement software and hardware protection, ensuring the aircraft are ready for a safe flight.

Airbus issued the Emergency Directive through a global press release on November 29, 2025, which states, "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," acknowledging the fixes would create "operational disruptions to passengers and customers." Following this press release, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an emergency airworthiness directive on an immediate basis, prohibiting the potential A320 aircraft from flying until the potential vulnerabilities are fully addressed. 

These glitches in the A320 came into notice after an incident involving a JetBlue A320 that unexpectedly pitched downward without pilot input during a flight from Cancun to Newark on October 30, 2025. The National Transportation Safety Board highlighted "likely occurred during an ELAC switch change." The aircraft diverted to Tampa for an emergency landing, and Airbus found, after investigation, that intense solar radiation may corrupt flight-control-related data, resulting in some casualties and hospitalisation of passengers. Following the event, Airbus introduced some precautionary checks. 

The list of affected airlines includes American Airlines, JetBlue, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, which are among the largest global operators of Airbus A320 aircraft. American Airlines reported that its 320 aircraft are affected, and most repairs are expected to take nearly 48 hours to complete. On the other hand, Delta inform that respective updates can be finished by Saturday morning. Avianca, a Colombian carrier, took strict action and temporarily closed ticket sales until December 8, as more than 70% of its fleet requires major safety updates. Other carriers such as Air France, Japan's ANA, IndiGo, Air India, Lufthansa, and others also reported service interruptions and cancelled their flights. 

References Links

• Airbus Official Press Release: https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-11-airbus-update-on-a320-family-precautionary-fleet-action
• ANI News: https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/its-a-very-serious-glitch-aviation-expert-harsh-wardhan-on-airbus-a320-global-software-issue20251129121735/
• The Times of India: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/explained-what-is-the-airbus-a320-software-issue-and-why-are-6000-planes-grounded/articleshow/125651018.cms
• The Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/airbus-a320-fleet-global-disruption-air-india-indigo-announce-potential-delays-advisory-issued/articleshow/125649755.cms?from=mdr