U.S. Airlines Avoid Major Impact From Airbus ELAC Issue

Manufacturer says less than 100 out of about 6,000 potentially impacted aircraft still require modifications.

Jack Daleo

Monday, December 01, 2025 at 01:48 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Regulators required modifications to certain Airbus aircraft after an A320 operating JetBlue Flight 1230 suffered a possible software vulnerability. [Credit: JetBlue Airways]

Key Takeaways:

U.S. airlines largely avoided major disruptions after the FAA issued an emergency directive requiring modifications to hundreds of Airbus A319, A320, and A321 models.
The directive was prompted by an A320's uncommanded altitude loss, with preliminary analysis suggesting "intense solar radiation" may have caused a malfunction in the aircraft's elevator aileron computer (ELAC) system.
Most affected aircraft globally, including those of major U.S. carriers like American and Delta, have already completed the ELAC modifications, with JetBlue being the most significantly impacted but aiming for a quick return to service for its planes.
Separately, Airbus has identified a new quality issue concerning metal panels on a limited number of A320-family jets, which the company attributes to an unnamed partner.

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U.S. airlines appear to have avoided major disruptions after the FAA required emergency modifications to about 545 Airbus A319, A320, and A321 models.

Airbus on Friday said that after an A320 altitude-loss event in October, a preliminary analysis found that “intense solar radiation” may have caused a malfunction of the aircraft’s elevator aileron computer (ELAC) system, which uses pilot commands to control elevators and ailerons. That prompted the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and FAA to issue emergency airworthiness directives (EADs) grounding certain A319, A320, and A321 models until carriers completed ELAC modifications.