The Sun vs Airbus, Airbus Grounds 6.000 Jets as Solar Radiation Glitch Disrupts Holiday Travel

29 November 2025 • • min read

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Summery

Airbus has recalled 6,000 A320 jets after discovering that solar radiation can corrupt flight computers and cause uncommanded dives.
The glitch was identified following a frightening October incident where a JetBlue flight suddenly pitched downward without pilot input.

The global aviation industry is currently scrambling to manage a crisis that threatens to derail the Thanksgiving holiday travel season. Airbus has issued an urgent recall for its A320 family of jets after discovering a critical software vulnerability. The issue is both rare and alarming because it stems from intense solar radiation. This cosmic interference can corrupt the data within the aircraft's flight control computers. The glitch forces the plane to pitch its nose down without any input from the pilots.

This massive directive affects approximately 6,000 aircraft worldwide. That number represents more than half of the Airbus A320s currently in service. European regulators have mandated that the software upgrades must happen before these planes fly again. The urgency has triggered a logistical nightmare for airlines from New Zealand to Latin America. Carriers are racing to implement the fixes while passengers face cancellations and delays during one of the busiest travel windows of the year.

The problem centers on the Elevator Aileron Computer or ELAC 2 system. This hardware is manufactured by Thales SA and is essential for the "fly-by-wire" technology that Airbus pioneered in the 1980s. Modern jets do not rely on physical cables to move the flaps and rudders. They rely on electronic signals. The investigation revealed that solar storms can flip binary digits within the computer code. This corruption tricks the system into thinking the plane needs to dive to stay within its safety parameters.

The recall was precipitated by a terrifying incident on October 30 involving a JetBlue flight. The aircraft was traveling from Cancun to Newark when it experienced a sudden uncommanded downward pitch. The pilots were able to regain control and divert to Tampa but the event shook the industry. Airbus acted quickly once they identified the solar radiation link. They realized that while the probability is low the potential consequences are catastrophic.

Fixing the problem depends entirely on the age of the jet. Most of the 6,000 affected aircraft can be repaired with a simple software download. This process takes a few hours and can be done right at the gate. However roughly 1,000 older jets face a much harder path. These planes require physical hardware replacements because their onboard computers cannot support the new code. These older aircraft will remain grounded until maintenance crews can swap out the physical units.

The operational impact varies wildly depending on the airline. Colombia's Avianca has taken a massive hit because 70% of its fleet is affected. The airline halted ticket sales until December 8 to cope with the shortage. Japan's ANA Holdings scrapped 95 flights on Saturday alone. Conversely carriers like Wizz Air and Indigo moved with incredible speed. Wizz Air updated its entire fleet overnight and American Airlines has already cleared the majority of its 209 impacted jets.

This situation highlights the fragility of modern aviation infrastructure. The A320 is the workhorse of the global skies and has long been considered the gold standard for reliability. It allowed Airbus to leapfrog Boeing in sales. However this incident proves that even the most popular jet in history is vulnerable to unforeseen external forces like space weather. It joins a growing list of headaches for the manufacturer which is already dealing with separate engine issues on its newer neo models.