This looks a biggie....

[coxyhog]

A320's grounded due solar interference with flight controls.

https://www.businesstraveller.com/news/airbus-a320s-potential-grounding/

 

EASA_EAD_2025-0268-E_1.pdf

Edited November 28, 2025 by coxyhog

[Golfingboy]

F—k me! Domestically with Air Canada that’s all I ever flew(except the only time I was upgraded, but it was a much shorter route Toronto-Regina was Embraer-9) Oh and once during the pandemic on points I was a Guinea pig for a new MAX8….thank God I made it

 

You are correct Sir…this is BAD! Especially if it’s the whole gamut, 319,20,21 ? 

[Derek Dangleberries]

I browsed the article on the BBC Website this morning and my immediate thought was Kudos to Airbus for being open about it, followed quickly by wondering if anybody else has a problem but are keeping it quiet ..

[fygjam]

48 minutes ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

I browsed the article on the BBC Website this morning and my immediate thought was Kudos to Airbus for being open about it, followed quickly by wondering if anybody else has a problem but are keeping it quiet ..

Apparently it was a software upgrade. Fix one problem, introduce another. That is why the fix is to revert to the old software. Still takes 2.75 hours (from the Airbus instructions).

 

[Horizondave]

It's big news because it could affect thousands of aircraft but it appears to not actually be as big an issue as is being broadcast on the media. It is a serious issue though and it's being dealt with in the correct manner. 

In the UK, it has had little effect on operations of most airlines. Supposedly a few delays at Gatwick, but beyond that, it is not much news.

In France they have a bigger problem with some of their aircraft and, no doubt, it will have a bigger effect on some US airlines. 

The Russians have grounded about half their fleet of A320 NEOs

If it is just a software reload then it is usually about 3 hours worth of downtime. If it is hardware that needs changing, then it could be a few days.

The interesting fact I have taken from this story is how often there are solar flares and how many there are due to solar activity.

An interesting link: https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity/solar-flares.html

 

[thegrogmonster]

Jetstar which is a low budget airline in Australia has grounded their fleet of these aircraft and are working through doing the software updates.

[Yesitisdakid]

9 hours ago, thegrogmonster said:

Jetstar which is a low budget airline in Australia has grounded their fleet of these aircraft and are working through doing the software updates.

A case of better safe than sorry