Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 48, 2025.

Introduction.

Airbus has issued an emergency technical advisory affecting the A320 family of aircraft worldwide following a serious incident, when a JetBlue A320 experienced an uncommanded altitude drop during a flight from Cancun to Newark. Investigations revealed that intense solar radiation, including solar flares and cosmic rays, can corrupt critical flight-control data in the aircraft’s Elevator/Aileron Computers (ELAC), potentially causing sudden changes in the aircraft’s attitude. In response, Airbus Aircraft issued an Alert Operators Transmission requiring immediate corrective measures, including software updates for most affected aircraft and hardware replacements for older models. The EASA – European Union Aviation Safety Agency followed with an Emergency Airworthiness Directive on 28 November 2025, mandating compliance before further passenger operations. The advisory impacts approximately 6,000 A320-family aircraft globally, causing widespread flight cancellations and delays as operators implement the required updates.