Airbus has instructed operators of certain Airbus 320 -family aircraft to take immediate safety measures after updated engineering analysis indicated that “intense solar radiation” could corrupt data used by the jets’ flight-control systems.
The manufacturer’s alert was swiftly followed by an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) issued late Friday by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Published as EASA AD 2025-0268-E, the directive mandates the replacement of a specific batch of Elevator Aileron Computers — designated ELAC B L104 — before the aircraft’s next flight. The requirement spans the A319, A320, and A321 fleets, covering both CEO and NEO variants.
According to EASA, the directive stems from a recent incident in which an Airbus A320 experienced an uncommanded, limited pitch-down event in cruise. The autopilot remained engaged and the aircraft lost only a small amount of altitude before stabilising, but preliminary analysis by Airbus identified a malfunction in one of the affected ELAC units as a possible contributing factor. Investigators caution that, if left uncorrected, this failure mode could in the worst case trigger uncommanded elevator movement severe enough to exceed the aircraft’s structural limits.
EASA defines two aircraft groups under the directive. Group 1 aircraft are those equipped with the affected ELAC units as outlined in Airbus’s Alert Operators Transmission (AOT). Group 2 aircraft are all others.
For Group 1 aircraft, operators must remove or modify the affected ELAC units and install serviceable replacements before further flight. Only limited ferry operations — up to three non-ETOPS cycles with no passengers — are permitted to position aircraft to maintenance facilities for the required work.
After modification, operators may not reinstall any of the affected ELAC units. For Group 2 aircraft, the directive prohibits any configuration changes that would introduce the older hardware into service.
The EAD becomes effective on 29 November at 23:59 UTC and was issued without the usual consultation process due to the safety assessment’s determination that immediate action was necessary.
Here is our video on the grounding.
The new mandate follows a separate and more severe event earlier this month involving a JetBlue A320, which unexpectedly pitched downward during cruise. According to an internal report reviewed by AirlineGeeks, that incident was linked to a failure of the aircraft’s backup flight-control computer — the ELAC 2 unit — underscoring regulators’ heightened focus on A320-family control-law redundancy.
EASA notes that operators may request approved Alternative Methods of Compliance and encourages reporting of any similar failures or malfunctions through the EU aviation safety reporting system. Technical enquiries are directed to the Airbus Airworthiness Office.
United said its A320s are not impacted while American said about 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft require the software replacement, and it expects the majority of those fixes to be “complete today and tomorrow,” with about two hours required for each plane.
There are around 11,300 A320-family aircraft in operation, including 6,440 of the core A320 model, which first flew in 1987.
The ABC in Australia reports that some Jetstar planes have been grounded due to a global recall of thousands of A320 aircraft, which are also used by Australian carriers Qantas and Virgin.
Qantas told 42kft.com that none of its A320s are impacted.
Jetstar told the ABC: “We’re working through the impacts on our fleet and to our customers. We’ll have more information shortly.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”
Airbus in a statement said:
“Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.
“Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted.
“Airbus has worked proactively with the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly. This AOT will be reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”
