Airbus has announced it will need to recall thousands of planes as it needs to make immediate modifications to aircraft.
The aviation giant is examining the A320 aircraft after reports that sun radiation can disrupt flight controls.
Major disruption could impact the aviation industry, with thousands of planes being impacted by the recalls.
Airbus A320 recall
Reports in international media said as many as 6,000 jets in the Airbus A320 family could be grounded.
Industry experts said the issue can be addressed with a software update, but older planes will require hardware modifications as well.
A statement from the airline said: “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 the aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) in order to implement the available software and/or hardware protection, and ensure the fleet is safe to fly.
“This AOT will be 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”.
