https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cvg4y6g74ert BBC Homepage * Skip to content * Accessibility Help * Your account * Home * News * Sport * Business * Innovation * Culture * Travel * Earth * Audio * Video * Live * More menu More menu Search BBC * Home * News * Sport * Business * Innovation * Culture * Travel * Earth * Audio * Video * Live Close menu BBC News Menu * Home * Israel-Gaza war * War in Ukraine * Climate * Video * World * US & Canada * UK * Business * Tech More * Science * Entertainment & Arts * Health * In Pictures * BBC Verify * World News TV * Newsbeat Live. 9,224 viewing9224 viewing Live pageUpdated 16 minutes ago Flight disruption warning as Airbus requests modifications to 6,000 planes Wizz Air Airbus A320 aircraft as seen flying, landing and taxing at Eindhoven Airport EIN while it is arriving from Bucharest OTP. The A320-200 passenger airplane of the ultra low cost airline Wizz Air Malta has the registration 9H-WBJ and is powered by 2x IAE jet engines with an all economy seat configuration. WizzAir is a Hungarian budget low cost airline carrier with head office in Budapest, Hungary. Eindhoven, the Netherlands on July 19, 2023 Summary * European aerospace giant Airbus has warned flights will be disrupted after it requested immediate modifications to thousands of its planes * The move comes after the discovery that intense radiation from the Sun could corrupt data crucial to flight controls * About 6,000 planes are thought to be affected, which makes up about half of Airbus's global fleet, but it is understood most will be able to undergo a simple software update * The UK's aviation regulator has said carrying out the updates would likely cause "some disruption and cancellations to flights" * American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Air India, Wizz Air and Air New Zealand have all warned of disruption to flights To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Media caption, Watch: This is "a very rare event", says UK's Civil Aviation Authority Live Reporting Edited by Jack Burgess, with business correspondent Theo Leggett reporting 1. EasyJet says it has 'already completed' software update to planes published at 22:43 GMT 22:43 GMTBreaking EasyJet says it has "already completed" the software update on many of its planes and plans to operate its flights as normal on Saturday. A spokesperson says: "We plan to operate our flying programme normally on Saturday and ask that customers travelling continue to monitor their flights on flight tracker." The airline adds that safety is its highest priority and it "always operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturers guidelines". Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 2. 'The impact on UK airlines seems limited,' transport secretary sayspublished at 22:22 GMT 22:22 GMT [aca0db4a]Katy Austin Transport correspondent British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander walks on Downing Street, in London, Britain, November 26, 2025.Image source, Reuters Responding to the technical issue with Airbus aircraft, the UK's Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says: "I am aware of the technical issue impacting certain aircraft and concerns over how this will affect passengers and flights this evening." She advises passengers who are due to fly this weekend to check with their carriers for the latest information. The transport secretary says "the good news" is that "the impact on UK airlines seems limited, with a smaller number of aircraft requiring more complex software and hardware changes". "I would really like to thank the experts, staff and airlines who are working at pace to address this and reassure passengers that work is ongoing." "It is heartening this issue has been identified and will be addressed so swiftly, demonstrating the high aviation safety standards globally," she adds. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 3. Australian airline Jetstar says some of its flights are unable to departpublished at 22:07 GMT 22:07 GMT We've just seen an update from low-cost Australian airline Jetstar, which says some of its Airbus-operated flights are unable to depart at the moment. "We're working through the impacts on our fleet and to our customers. We'll have more information shortly," it says. There is no impact to airline giant Qantas at this stage. For context: Jetstar is Qantas's low-cost airline. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 4. Planes can't fly passengers until they have been fixed, EASA says published at 21:58 GMT 21:58 GMT [ded72972]Michael Race Business and economics reporter A European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive stipulates that, as of 29 November, the planes thought to be affected can only fly passengers once they've been fixed. They will be allowed to make so-called "ferry flights", without passengers, in order to get to a maintenance facility. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 5. The latest from Heathrow and Gatwick airportspublished at 21:49 GMT 21:49 GMT A British Airways passenger plane flies over a road direction sign as it makes its landing approach to Heathrow Airport in west London, BritainImage source, Reuters We've now heard from London's two biggest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. "We are aware of a directive requiring some airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft to update software on their fleet over coming days, which may result in some disruption," a spokesperson for Gatwick Airport says. "This is only impacting a small number of airlines at London Gatwick. Passengers should contact their airline for more information." Separately, Heathrow Airport says the required maintenance on some Airbus aircraft currently has no impact on its operations. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 6. 'Potential for disruption immeasurable at this stage,' travel journalist sayspublished at 21:48 GMT 21:48 GMT "Dozens of big airlines use these aircraft," travel journalist Simon Calder tells the BBC. "So the potential for disruption is, I'm afraid, immeasurable at this stage." Calder says that while British Airways' mainline fleet of short-haul flights that are at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports use entirely Airbus A320 series planes, "my understanding is that only three of those are affected by this and as a result they'll be able to get the work done overnight, hopefully with no disruption". He adds he has spoken to Wizz Air and EasyJet, who we have reported are expecting some delays. "Now the assumption, I'm glad to say, is that your flight will be going ahead as normal and the airline will contact you if there is any change to that." Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 7. About 80 aircraft affected at Gatwick, BBC understandspublished at 21:31 GMT 21:31 GMT [cf00d362]Simon Browning Transport correspondent UK Border at Gatwick Airport The Airbus software issue could take hours to fix on the planes themselves, which an industry source suggests means some cancellations are inevitable over the weekend. It is understood UK-based airlines are currently working on their plans, with one airline being particularly affected. Planes will arrive in the UK this evening as usual, but it appears some will not do their next turnaround tomorrow and depart from the UK again. I've been told airports will need to play "a logistical game of Tetris tonight to free up space" to make sure incoming aircraft can be parked overnight. Airports "will be having to park them remotely to ensure incoming long hauls have space", the industry source says. It is unclear how many engineers will be needed at once to update software. The skies at this time of year are quieter after the peak summer period and before the Christmas festive rush begins. It is understood about 80 aircraft are affected at Gatwick Airport. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 8. Air Canada not expecting any impact to operationspublished at 21:27 GMT 21:27 GMT Air Canada says it's not expecting any impact to its operations as "very few of our aircraft use that version of the software". However, connecting flights with other airlines could still be delayed by a knock-on effect. Other Canadian Airlines WestJet and Porter don't have any of the A320 planes listed on their websites. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 9. How long will repairs take?published at 21:25 GMT 21:25 GMT [2091d3c9]Theo Leggett Business correspondent This issue affects around 6,000 aircraft. For the majority of planes, the fix will involve installing new computer software. This should normally take about three hours. But around 900 older planes will need computers replaced and will not be allowed to carry passengers again until the job has been completed. How long that takes will depend on the availability of replacement computers. It's not yet clear whether there will be enough parts to meet demand. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 10. More airlines warn of potential service disruptionpublished at 21:09 GMT 21:09 GMT The exterior of a Wizz Air planeImage source, Getty Images We're hearing from more airlines around the world who are now reporting potential disruptions to services as a result of the immediate recall of aircraft by Airbus. + American Airlines says 340 of its planes are affected and that it expects "some operational delays" but expects the vast majority of updates to completed today or tomorrow + Delta Airlines says it will comply with Airbus's instruction but expects any resulting operational impact to be "limited" + Air India says the instruction from Airbus could lead to a "longer turnaround and delays to our scheduled operations + Wizz Air has warned passengers flying over this weekend that they may face disruption as a result of the update We'll bring you further airline updates when we have them. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 11. Analysis Why this is an extremely unusual issuepublished at 21:06 GMT 21:06 GMT [2091d3c9]Theo Leggett Business correspondent It was experienced on one flight, when an aircraft flying from Cancun to New Jersey was affected by a sudden and intense solar storm. The radiation corrupted data in the ELAC - a computer used to operate control surfaces on the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The fault caused the plane to go into a sudden descent. Airbus says the plane had recently had its software updated. The issue had never arisen with the previous software. But now, it insists it is acting out of an abundance of caution. It took the issue to regulators itself and asked airlines to make changes. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 12. EasyJet expects 'some disruption'published at 20:55 GMT 20:55 GMT EasyJet logo on an airplane is seen at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in paris, France on November 14th, 2025.Image source, Getty Images EasyJet says its aware of the communication from Airbus to airlines operating the A320 family aircraft and is "currently working closely with the safety authorities and Airbus to implement the action we need to take". The airline says it is expecting this to result in some disruption and will "inform customers directly about any changes to our flying programme tomorrow and will do all possible to minimise the impact". "Safety is our highest priority and EasyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturers guidelines," its statement concludes. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 13. Air New Zealand warns of disruption across number of flights todaypublished at 20:51 GMT 20:51 GMT Air New Zealand says it's currently affected by a "global software issue impacting Airbus A320neo aircraft", it says in a post on social media platform X., external "As a precaution, all our A320neo aircrafts will be receiving a software update before operating their next passenger service," the airline says. The statement continues by saying "this will lead to disruption across a number of our A320neo flights today and we're expecting a number of cancellations to services across that fleet". "If you're travelling today, we will be contacting customers directly if your flight is affected," the airline adds. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 14. There may be impact to some flights, CAA warnspublished at 20:45 GMT 20:45 GMT Tim Johnson from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority tells the BBC that there may be disruptions to flights "in some circumstances". "From a UK perspective, not all airlines fly Airbus A320 or the affected ones, so for some airlines there will be no impact at all," he says. "For some, there may be some impact," he continues, adding that the CAA has been in touch with airlines and they're looking to make sure the maintenance is undertaken over the coming days. He says the advice to customers is to "check airline websites and apps for the latest info about what is happening". Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 15. How did Airbus find the problem?published at 20:43 GMT 20:43 GMT [2091d3c9]Theo Leggett Business correspondent The issue was discovered after a JetBlue aircraft en-route from Mexico to the United States in October experienced a 'sudden drop in altitude'. The plane made an emergency landing, with reports at the time suggesting 15 to 20 people suffered minor injuries. It's thought the incident was caused by intense solar radiation, which corrupted data in a computer used to help control the aircraft. Now action is being taken to prevent further problems. About 6,000 aircraft worldwide are thought to be affected, all of them of the A320 family, which also includes the A319 and A321 models. According to Airbus, the majority can be fixed with a relatively simple software update. However, some 900 older planes will need replacement computers, and will have to be taken out of service until they can be fixed. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing 16. Warning of disruption as thousand of Airbus planes require software updatepublished at 20:26 GMT 20:26 GMT [c30ea702]Jamie Whitehead Live reporter Airbus says that flights will be disrupted after it requested immediate modifications to thousands of its planes. The plane manufacturer says it has found that intense radiation from the Sun could corrupt data crucial to flight controls. About 6,000 planes are thought to be affected, which is around half of the company's global fleet. It's thought most will be able to undergo a simple software update. We'll be bringing you live coverage as well as information on any potential disruption, stay with us. Share close panel Share page Copy link About sharing * Home * News * Sport * Business * Innovation * Culture * Travel * Earth * Audio * Video * Live * Terms of Use * About the BBC * Privacy Policy * Cookies * Accessibility Help * Parental Guidance * Contact the BBC * BBC emails for you * Advertise with us Copyright (c) 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.