Airbus A320 aircraft Photo: VCG

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced on Friday local time an immediate action for a software upgrade on its A320-family jets. The move affects approximately 6,000 aircraft worldwide, prompting adjustments in airline operations across several regions. Chinese aviation experts noted that the impact on Chinese carriers is being monitored.

Airbus said in a notice that the action follows a recent event involving an A320-family aircraft. The company said that analysis has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

Airbus confirmed that the plane analyzed was JetBlue Flight 1230, which was traveling from Cancun, Mexico to Newark, New Jersey, in the US on October 30 when it suddenly dropped in altitude, causing several injuries, NPR reported.

"A significant number" of A320 aircraft currently in use may be impacted, the company said in the notice, apologizing for the operational disruptions.

The action involves software upgrades on about 6,000 A320 aircraft, Reuters reported.

The Airbus A320 family has become the most-delivered commercial jet in history, surpassing the Boeing 737. As of August, the A320 family had reached 12,151 aircraft compared to 12,171 for the 737, aviation-industry news website Air Data News reported in October, citing data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Saturday that the move involving more than 6,000 A320 aircraft out of over 10,000 delivered aircrafts shows that the impact is quite substantial.

As of press time, the total number of flights affected for Chinese airlines by the action had not been published. Experts assess that Chinese carriers will also be affected to some extent, as they are among the largest customers for A320-family aircraft.

All types of Airbus aircraft in service of the Chinese mainland have surpassed 2,200, according to Airbus data. Qi Qi, an industry observer, told the Global Times on Saturday that A320 family aircrafts account for a substantial portion of that total.

The affected Chinese flights are still being assessed, and the exact impact remains to be seen. However, large airlines with many aircraft are expected to experience only minor disruption, while carriers that primarily operate Airbus A320-family jets are likely to be more affected, Qi said.

The world's largest A320 operator, American Airlines, said some 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft would need the fix. It said it mostly expected these to be completed by Saturday, with about two hours required for each plane, according to Reuters.

Other airlines said they would take planes briefly out of service to carry out the repairs, including Germany's Lufthansa, India's IndiGo and UK-based easyJet, the report said.