Most Airbus A320 finish software fix following solar-radiation alert: Minister

PARIS -- French authorities said a majority of the software updates requested by Airbus for "immediate precautionary action" on A320 family aircraft were completed overnight from Friday to Saturday.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told BFMTV on Saturday that the update in response to solar radiation risks had already been completed on more than 5,000 aircraft, while around 100 A320 family planes worldwide will be temporarily grounded as faulty flight-control software is replaced.

Airbus issued the precautionary call on Friday, urging operators of A320 family aircraft to immediately implement available software or hardware protections. In its statement, Airbus said it had identified "a significant number" of in-service aircraft that could be affected after a recent incident showed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight-control functions.

Also on Friday, the European Aviation Safety Agency confirmed it had been alerted by Airbus and had issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive for the A320 family.

Local media estimated that about 6000 aircraft were subject to the urgent replacement of software. Economy Minister Roland Lescure told BFMTV that, for "the vast majority" of aircraft, the update can be carried out remotely and "is fairly quick."

This measure followed a technical failure at the end of October involving an A320 operated by US airline JetBlue.

As one of Airbus' flagship models, 12,260 A320 family aircraft have been delivered since its launch in 1988, according to data published by analysis company Cirium in October.