Software issue hits thousands of Airbus A320 planes - UK passengers warned of potential disruption

Passengers in the UK are being assured there will only be minimal disruption over the weekend following a software issue affecting thousands of Airbus planes.

The aircraft are from the A320 family - used by numerous airlines - and need a systems update before they can fly again.

Airbus issued the alert on Friday after analysis of a flight involving an A320 showed "intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls".

On Saturday, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said UK airlines had worked overnight to carry out the update where needed and assured the impact to passengers in Britain would be minimal.

It is understood the incident that triggered the warning involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark in the US on 30 October.

That flight was diverted to Tampa International Airport after it suffered a flight control issue and experienced a sharp loss of altitude, which injured at least 15 passengers.

An Airbus spokesperson told Sky News the software change would affect up to 6,000 planes.

The fix involves A320 aircraft reverting to an earlier software version and Airbus stressed it would only take two to three hours for most planes.

However, some jets will also need new hardware and therefore will be affected for longer, it said. Industry sources estimated about 1,000 aircraft could be in this position.

Passengers have been told to expect "limited" travel disruption over the weekend.

America's aviation watchdog has issued an emergency order to immediately replace or modify the software, mirroring one from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

'Very concerning'

Gatwick said a "small number" of carriers based there were affected, but warned disruption was still possible. It urged passengers to contact their airline.

Heathrow and Luton airports said they were not expecting any disruption.

"The good news is it seems the impact on UK airlines seems limited, with a smaller number of aircraft requiring more complex software and hardware changes," said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

She said it was "heartening this issue has been identified and will be addressed so swiftly".

Airbus is understood to have traced the issue to the ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer) system, which sends commands to elevators on the plane's tail. These in turn control the aircraft's pitch or nose angle.

Travel expert Simon Calder said the situation was "very concerning" but stressed "aviation remains extraordinarily safe".

He warned customers might not be entitled to compensation if they're delayed as the issue would be considered out of airlines' control.

Read more:
Which airlines are affected by Airbus disruption?
Why plane's altitude drop led to thousands needing updates

What have airlines said?

• EasyJet said it had already completed the software update on lots of aircraft and is working closely with safety authorities. "We plan to operate our flying programme normally on Saturday and ask that customers travelling continue to monitor their flights on flight tracker," it added. The airline said some adjustments to the schedule could be necessary and advised passengers they will be informed of any changes by email, SMS, or the flight tracker.
  
• British Airways said it was not expecting any problems and only three of its planes were affected.
  
• American Airlines - the world's largest operator of the A320 - has faced more significant problems, with 209 of its 480 A320 plans needing an update, and the issue coming on a huge travel weekend stateside as many people return home after Thanksgiving. However, updates were due to be completed for the majority of its aircraft on Friday and Saturday, the airline said. Some delays are expected but safety is the "overriding priority" and "it's all hands on deck" to deal with the issue, a spokesperson added.
  
• Wizz Air said on Saturday that the software update had been implemented on all its affected A320 family aircraft overnight, with no further disruption anticipated.
  
• Aer Lingus said only a limited number of planes were affected, with "immediate" steps being taken to complete the required software installation. It said it was not expecting any significant operational disruption.
  
• Air France said it was cancelling 35 flights.
  
• Air India, which has 113 impacted aircraft, had completed the software fix on 42 aircraft by Saturday morning. It said it expected some flight delays but no cancellations.
  
• All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline, cancelled 65 domestic flights on Saturday.
  
• United Airlines said it expected minor disruption to a few flights, with only six aircraft affected.
  
• Lufthansa, a German airline, said it expected a small number of flight cancellations or delays over the weekend.
  
• Jet2 said it was "installing software updates on a very small number of aircraft" in its fleet but said there would be no impact to its schedule.

Airbus, which is registered in the Netherlands but has its main headquarters in France, is one of the world's biggest airplane manufacturers, alongside Boeing

The A320 is the world's bestselling single-aisle aircraft family, according to the Airbus website.

(c) Sky News 2025: Software issue hits thousands of Airbus A320 planes - UK passengers warned of potential disr