Airbus Mandates Software Recall for 6000 A320 Jets After Flight Control Glitch
A JetBlue Airbus A320 experienced an uncommanded pitch-down maneuver during a flight from Cancun to Newark on October 30, 2025, dropping its nose for several seconds without pilot input. The incident, linked to a software anomaly in the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC) exacerbated by intense solar radiation corrupting flight control data, prompted Airbus to issue an immediate global recall on November 28, 2025. Affecting over 6,000 aircraft—more than half the worldwide A320 family fleet—the directive requires urgent software resets before further operations, except for repositioning flights to maintenance sites.
The ELAC, a critical fly-by-wire system managing elevator and aileron surfaces for pitch and roll control, relies on non-volatile memory vulnerable to solar flares inducing bit flips in data storage. During the JetBlue event, the anomaly occurred amid an ELAC switch change, as determined by the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary review. Airbus identified the issue through post-incident analysis, revealing potential risks in aircraft delivered since 2015 equipped with the affected software version. The recall targets A320ceo and A320neo variants, encompassing 11,300 total jets in service globally.
Airlines worldwide grounded fleets, canceling hundreds of flights and rescheduling operations amid peak holiday travel. In the United States, American Airlines reported impacts on 209 aircraft initially, later revised down, leading to operational delays across domestic routes. JetBlue, the incident operator, suspended 15 percent of its schedule on November 29, 2025, while United Airlines canceled 120 flights. Europe’s easyJet completed updates on most of its 336 A320s by November 29, restoring normal Saturday operations, though it advised passengers to check flight trackers.
Asian carriers faced acute disruptions, with Japan’s All Nippon Airways canceling 65 flights on November 29 and IndiGo in India grounding 220 aircraft for two to three days. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered inspections and modifications for 338 affected planes, projecting completion by November 30, 2025. Middle Eastern operators like flynas in Saudi Arabia recalibrated portions of their fleet, causing schedule delays, while Etihad Airways in the UAE finished installations with minimal interruptions at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport. Latin American airline Avianca halted ticket sales through December 8, 2025, as 70 percent of its fleet required fixes.
The software reset involves a firmware patch to enhance error-correcting codes in ELAC memory, deployable via ground-based diagnostic tools in under two hours per aircraft. Airbus described the measure as precautionary, stating in a November 28 directive that “immediate implementation is required to mitigate risks of uncommanded control surface movements.” Industry sources noted the scale rivals major historical recalls, though the non-critical nature—allowing ferry flights—limits prolonged downtime. Regulatory bodies, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, endorsed the airworthiness directive, mandating compliance logs for operators.
Impacts extended to supply chain logistics, with maintenance providers like Lufthansa Technik prioritizing A320 slots, potentially delaying non-urgent services. Passenger rights under U.S. Department of Transportation rules entitle affected travelers to refunds or rebookings without fees. As updates progress, analysts project full fleet recovery by December 2, 2025, barring secondary delays from parts shortages. The event underscores vulnerabilities in aerospace software to environmental factors, prompting reviews of radiation-hardened designs for future fly-by-wire systems.
This recall highlights escalating dependencies on resilient embedded software in commercial aviation, where solar activity—peaking in the current cycle—poses intermittent threats to digital avionics. Airbus plans enhanced simulations incorporating geomagnetic storm data for upcoming A321XLR certifications. Operators report no injuries from the JetBlue incident, but the episode accelerates adoption of dual-redundant ELAC configurations in neo variants. Global fleet utilization dipped 8 percent on November 29, per Flightradar24 data, marking the largest single-day disruption since 2023 supply chain issues.
