Theo Leggett,International business correspondentand
Yang Tian,BBC News
Thousands of Airbus planes had to be grounded for a software update after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers.
Around 6,000 A320 planes were thought to be affected – half the European firm’s global fleet – but many were able to fly again within hours after undergoing the update.
The UK’s aviation regulator said there would be “some disruption and cancellations to flights” though the impact at airports appears to be limited.
Airbus said it discovered the issue after an investigation into an incident in which a plane flying between the US and Mexico suddenly lost altitude in October.
The JetBlue Airways flight made an emergency landing in Florida after at least 15 people were injured.
As well as the A320, the company’s best-selling aircraft, the vulnerability also impacts the A318, A319 and the A321 models.
It is understood that on around 5,100 Airbus planes, the issue can be addressed using a relatively simple software update which would typically take about three hours.
One airline, Wizz Air, confirmed to the BBC it had completed the update overnight on all of its affected A320 aircraft and all flights on Saturday would be operating as normal.
However, across other airlines, there are 900 aircraft which are older versions, and these will need to have onboard computers physically replaced, and will not be allowed to carry passengers again until the job has been completed.
The length of time that takes will depend on the availability of replacement computers.
Airbus said it acknowledged this would lead to “operational disruption to passengers and
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