Airbus safety issues demonstrate airlines resilience to minimise disruption

Airbus ordered urgent fixes for around 6,000 A320-family aircraft, representing over half of the global fleet, on 28th November 2025 following the discovery of a software issue for this type of aircraft’s Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC) which governs pitch and roll. This event was one of the biggest safety alerts in Airbus’s history.

The ELAC computer had malfunctioned during a JetBlue flight in October 2025, after an uncommanded and limited pitch down event in an otherwise unremarkable flight. That flight had led to 15 reported injuries after a steep drop in altitude requiring a diversion to Tampa.

An investigation into that incident revealed that intense solar radiation may have corrupted data critical to flight controls. The autopilot remained engaged throughout the event, with a brief and limited loss of altitude. The worst-case scenario could have been an uncommanded elevator movement that may have resulted in an aircraft’s structural capability being exceeded.

Airbus issued an Alert Operator Transmission (AOT) for those aircraft having an affected ELAC installed to be replaced with a serviceable ELAC. EASA then issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) on Friday 28th November as a result of Airbus’s technical assessment that the malfunction of the ELAC had been a contributing factor. 

The FAA followed the EASA order with airlines given a strict deadline of 12:01 a.m. Sunday (Nov. 30) to complete the updates. The update was mandatory before further flights and was expected to cause widespread operational disruption.  The worst-hit carriers were those with large A320 fleets and tight schedules during peak travel periods.  The American based airlines were also having to resolve this over the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

In a good example of regulators, MROs and airlines coming together and the paramount position of safety to the industry, the disruption was minimal in the UK with British Airways, EasyJet, and Wizz Air reporting only minor delays or no significant cancellations after completing updates overnight. 

Although operations were returning to normal by Monday 1st December, in a development unconnected to the software glitch, a fresh setback has come with Airbus revealing that defective panels have been identified on a limited number of its new aircraft, arising from inconsistencies at supplier sites in France and Germany . The panel issue is not thought to pose a safety risk to in-service aircraft but is a concern for production, already under pressure, and adds to the ongoing supply chain strain the industry is facing.

Clyde & Co’s global aviation team is well placed to assist our clients with crisis management, advice on liability clauses, and risk management strategies during events such as these.