Airbus orders immediate A320 safety fixes; EASA issues directive as flight disruptions expected

Airbus has announced urgent precautionary measures for its A320 family after analysis of a recent in‑service event revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. The manufacturer said a significant number of aircraft currently in service may be impacted, prompting immediate action.

Airbus explained that it has worked proactively with aviation authorities to request corrective steps from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT). The AOT instructs airlines to implement available software or hardware protections to ensure the fleet remains safe to fly. Airbus acknowledged the operational impact of the measures, stating: “We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has reflected Airbus’s AOT in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD), citing a susceptibility introduced by a software update in one of the aircraft’s onboard computers.

The directive was triggered by an incident on JetBlue flight 1230 on October 30, 2025, when an A320 experienced uncommanded pitch‑down linked to the affected system.

JetBlue Flight 1230 Incident

On October 30, 2025, JetBlue Flight 1230, an Airbus A320 operating from Cancún to Newark, experienced an uncommanded pitch‑down event attributed to the Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC). Approximately one hour into the flight, the aircraft entered a rapid descent, losing more than 14,000 ft within five minutes, followed by a further 12,000 ft in the next five minutes. The crew declared a PAN‑PAN, later upgraded to a MAYDAY, and diverted to Tampa International Airport (TPA). The aircraft landed without further incident at 14:20 local time.

The abrupt vertical acceleration during the descent resulted in multiple passenger injuries, with several requiring hospital treatment upon arrival. Preliminary analysis indicated anomalous ELAC outputs inconsistent with pilot side‑stick inputs, leading to uncommanded elevator deflection. Airbus subsequently identified the susceptibility as linked to a recent software update in the flight‑control computer, which under certain conditions could be corrupted by high‑intensity solar radiation.

Industry sources estimate that around 6,000 A320 family aircraft worldwide will require updates, making this one of the largest corrective actions in Airbus’s history. Most jets can be addressed with a two‑hour software patch, but hundreds of older airframes will need hardware modifications, extending downtime.