Indian Airlines Rapidly Fix Critical Software Flaw in Hundreds of Airbus A320 Jets
Major safety upgrade completed on India's Airbus A320 fleet.
India’s leading airlines including IndiGo, Air India, and Air India Express have successfully installed updated software on 323 affected A320 family planes, following an urgent directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) aligned with a global safety alert. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive after Airbus reported a fault in the Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC) module—a key component managing flight control surfaces. This issue could cause unintentional pitch movements, posing a serious safety risk.
IndiGo, which operates over 2,300 daily flights and is India’s largest A320 operator with 200 aircraft, confirmed full completion of the upgrade without canceling any flights—only minimal delays were reported. Air India has upgraded all 100 operational planes of its 113 A320 family fleet, with the remaining aircraft either under maintenance or exempt from modification. Air India Express also completed upgrades on 23 planes, with two more undergoing maintenance. The software installation deadline was set at 5.29 am on November 30, 2025, and airlines met this timeline promptly.
Industry experts underscore the gravity of the ELAC software fault, describing the computer as the aircraft’s "brain and nervous system." Uncommanded pitch shifts—like those seen in a JetBlue incident on October 30—can cause rapid altitude loss, unsafe conditions especially during critical phases like takeoff. The quick response by Indian carriers reflects stringent aviation safety procedures and close monitoring, with the aircraft manufacturers working on permanent fixes to the software problem.
Also Read: DGCA Confirms 270 Airbus A320 Flights Updated, Resuming Operations Amid Global Software Disruption
Globally, nearly 6,000 A320 family aircraft require software updates or hardware corrections, out of 8,100 planes in service. The smooth execution of this complex upgrade by Indian airlines marks a vital step in maintaining operational safety standards amidst emerging technical challenges in modern aircraft fleets.
Also Read: Airbus A320 Malfunction: Software Update Completed on 189 of 338 Flights, Confirms DGCA
