After Airbus alert, IndiGo finishes fleet-wide A320 update, Air India nears full reset
The upgrades were ordered after Airbus and EASA warned of a potential flight-control issue caused by intense solar radiation.
- Nov 30, 2025,
- Updated Nov 30, 2025 8:11 AM IST
India's largest airlines said that they have completed or are close to completing the mandated software reset on their A320 family fleets. The upgrades were ordered after Airbus and EASA warned of a potential flight-control issue caused by intense solar radiation.
In its latest update, IndiGo said that all 200 aircraft had now been fully updated and compliant, while Air India said it had "successfully completed the reset on over 90%" of its operating A320 family aircraft and expected to finish the remaining upgrades within the prescribed EASA timeline.
The software upgrade exercise, covering 338 A320 family aircraft across Indian carriers, triggered delays at several airports and resulted in four cancellations by Air India Express, though IndiGo and Air India avoided cancellations.
IndiGo, which operates more than 2,300 flights daily, said in its statement: "We are pleased to share a completion update on the mandatory Airbus system enhancement across our A320-family fleet. All 200 aircraft have now been fully updated and compliant as required. This programme involved a carefully coordinated sequence of work, with our engineering and operations teams ensuring each aircraft was updated with mandated system upgrade while maintaining stable operations across the network."
The airline added that the fleet-wide upgrade was carried out with minimal disruption and "zero cancellations."
Air India said in a post on X that the work had been executed at pace: "Air India has successfully completed the reset on over 90% of its operating A320 family aircraft that were impacted by EASA and Airbus’ requirement for a software realignment. We expect to cover the entire fleet within the timeline prescribed by EASA, with safety remaining our top priority."
The Tata-owned airline said its engineering and ground teams "worked round the clock to ensure there were no cancellations and that the impact on our schedule integrity across the network was minimal."
DGCA issued an Airworthiness Directive on Saturday directing operators to carry out the upgrades immediately, following Airbus' alert that an analysis of a recent A320 incident suggested intense solar radiation "may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls."
Airbus said a "significant number" of A320 family aircraft globally may be affected, requiring software changes or, in some cases, hardware realignment. EASA also asked operators to install a serviceable Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC), a core flight-control unit.
The issue gained wider attention after former pilot Ehsan Khalid described the stakes to PTI, explaining the ELAC function in lay terms.
"ELACs are the brain and nervous system of the aircraft, and the software problem with one of the ELACs is significant," former pilot Ehsan Khalid explained while speaking to PTI. He said the control inputs determine whether the aircraft pitches up or down, and any uncommanded movement would be a serious hazard.
Referring to a JetBlue incident on October 30, he said the aircraft experienced "an uncommanded pitch down for seven seconds," causing a 100-foot loss and injuring more than 15 people. At cruising altitude, he said the event was manageable, but "if you remember the Ahmedabad crash, it happened during take-off, and seven seconds would have been enough to cause a catastrophic end. So humanity has been lucky this time."
Airbus said in a statement on Friday that it has openly acknowledged a software problem and has said it will fix it.
Cirium data shows there are more than 8,100 A320 family aircraft in service globally, with nearly 6,000 requiring the software enhancements identified by Airbus and EASA.
India's largest airlines said that they have completed or are close to completing the mandated software reset on their A320 family fleets. The upgrades were ordered after Airbus and EASA warned of a potential flight-control issue caused by intense solar radiation.
In its latest update, IndiGo said that all 200 aircraft had now been fully updated and compliant, while Air India said it had "successfully completed the reset on over 90%" of its operating A320 family aircraft and expected to finish the remaining upgrades within the prescribed EASA timeline.
The software upgrade exercise, covering 338 A320 family aircraft across Indian carriers, triggered delays at several airports and resulted in four cancellations by Air India Express, though IndiGo and Air India avoided cancellations.
IndiGo, which operates more than 2,300 flights daily, said in its statement: "We are pleased to share a completion update on the mandatory Airbus system enhancement across our A320-family fleet. All 200 aircraft have now been fully updated and compliant as required. This programme involved a carefully coordinated sequence of work, with our engineering and operations teams ensuring each aircraft was updated with mandated system upgrade while maintaining stable operations across the network."
The airline added that the fleet-wide upgrade was carried out with minimal disruption and "zero cancellations."
Air India said in a post on X that the work had been executed at pace: "Air India has successfully completed the reset on over 90% of its operating A320 family aircraft that were impacted by EASA and Airbus’ requirement for a software realignment. We expect to cover the entire fleet within the timeline prescribed by EASA, with safety remaining our top priority."
The Tata-owned airline said its engineering and ground teams "worked round the clock to ensure there were no cancellations and that the impact on our schedule integrity across the network was minimal."
DGCA issued an Airworthiness Directive on Saturday directing operators to carry out the upgrades immediately, following Airbus' alert that an analysis of a recent A320 incident suggested intense solar radiation "may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls."
Airbus said a "significant number" of A320 family aircraft globally may be affected, requiring software changes or, in some cases, hardware realignment. EASA also asked operators to install a serviceable Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC), a core flight-control unit.
The issue gained wider attention after former pilot Ehsan Khalid described the stakes to PTI, explaining the ELAC function in lay terms.
"ELACs are the brain and nervous system of the aircraft, and the software problem with one of the ELACs is significant," former pilot Ehsan Khalid explained while speaking to PTI. He said the control inputs determine whether the aircraft pitches up or down, and any uncommanded movement would be a serious hazard.
Referring to a JetBlue incident on October 30, he said the aircraft experienced "an uncommanded pitch down for seven seconds," causing a 100-foot loss and injuring more than 15 people. At cruising altitude, he said the event was manageable, but "if you remember the Ahmedabad crash, it happened during take-off, and seven seconds would have been enough to cause a catastrophic end. So humanity has been lucky this time."
Airbus said in a statement on Friday that it has openly acknowledged a software problem and has said it will fix it.
Cirium data shows there are more than 8,100 A320 family aircraft in service globally, with nearly 6,000 requiring the software enhancements identified by Airbus and EASA.