BANGKOK, 2 December 2025: Asian airlines have completed or are very close to finishing the mandatory software upgrade on their A320 fleets, to comply with a recent urgent Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the Airbus A320 family aircraft.
The update was required to address a potential software vulnerability in the Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC) system and was detailed in an Airbus update on A320 Family precautionary fleet action released on 28 November 2025
The Airbus statement: “Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.
“Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in service which may be impacted. Airbus has worked proactively with aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) to implement available software and/or hardware protection and ensure the fleet is safe to fly.
“The AOT was reflected in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”
Asian Airlines that completed or nearly completed the A320 software update:
| Airline | Status of Completion | Notes |
| IndiGo (India) | Completed | Announced completion of the software reset on approximately 200 aircraft in its A320-family fleet. |
| Air India (India) | Nearly Completed | Reported successful completion of the fix on over 90% of its operating A320-family aircraft. |
| Air India Express (India) | Nearly Completed | Reported completion of safety checks on most of its aircraft, with the remaining few expected to be finalised very soon. |
| AirAsia (Group) | Completed | Announced that they had officially completed all the requirements mandated by the EASA within 24 hours of receiving the directive. |
| Taiwanese Carriers | Completed / Nearly Finished | Mentioned generally as having completed or nearly finished all their software updates. |
| HK Express (Hong Kong) | Advanced Progress | Reported having upgraded more than half of its affected aircraft, with normal flight operations. |
| VietJet (Vietnam) | Advanced Progress | As of the morning of 29 November 2025, the airline had completed updates on 45 out of 69 affected aircraft and was accelerating the process to ensure the entire fleet met requirements. |
| South Korean Carriers | Advanced Progress | The Transport Ministry expected upgrades to all 42 affected aircraft (including those operated by Asiana and Korean Air) to be completed by Sunday morning (30 November 2025). |
(Source: Airbus and TTRW)
This is a good example of the industry working together efficiently. From Airbus identifying the issue to airlines implementing updates in just days, the response demonstrates how advanced safety protocols in modern aviation have become.