Air travel faced unexpected disruption this week after Airbus ordered thousands of its A320-family aircraft to undergo urgent safety checks and software updates, according to BBC. The move came after engineers discovered that intense bursts of cosmic radiation from the Sun could interfere with the computers that control a plane's altitude data.The issue affects nearly 6,000 A320-series aircraft worldwide including the A318, A319, A320 and A321 models.
According to Airbus, the problem was identified during an investigation into an October incident in which a JetBlue flight between the US and Mexico suddenly lost altitude after its onboard systems received corrupted data. The aircraft later made an emergency landing, and at least 15 passengers were injured.
Most planes can be fixed through a simple software update that takes around three hours. Airlines such as Wizz Air and EasyJet reported that many of their aircraft have already been updated and returned to service. However, about 900 older jets need complete computer replacements, meaning they cannot carry passengers until the hardware is swapped out.
According to BBC, regulators across Europe, the UK and the US issued emergency airworthiness directives, allowing affected aircraft to operate only "ferry flights" without passengers until the issue is resolved. Despite the scale of the recall, major airports in the UK reported only minor disruptions, while some airlines such as British Airways and Air India said their fleets were minimally affected.
Airbus acknowledged in a press release, that the grounding could lead to delays and cancellations but stressed that the action was precautionary and necessary to maintain high safety standards. Experts noted that while the situation is unusual, it highlights how external forces like cosmic radiation can temporarily disrupt advanced "fly-by-wire" aircraft, where computers play a central role in controlling flight.
Aviation authorities emphasised that flying remains one of the safest modes of transport, crediting rigorous global safety systems and swift industry response.
