Aer Lingus has said a limited number of its aircraft are affected by an urgent direction for software updates, but it does not expect “significant” flight disruption.

Airbus has cautioned that more than half of its active A320 jetliner family fleet will need a software fix after a recent incident involving a JetBlue Airways airliner revealed that “intense solar radiation” could corrupt data that helps maintain functioning flight controls.

The company said a significant number of its A320 fleet, encompassing more than 6,500 jets in total, may be impacted by the required fix, according to a statement sent by the European plane maker on Friday. A separate directive by regulators said the upgrade must happen before an aircraft’s next regular flight.

In a statement on Friday, Aer Lingus said: “In Aer Lingus’ case a limited number of aircraft are impacted, and the airline is taking immediate steps to complete the required software installation. As a result, Aer Lingus expects that there will be no significant operational disruption.”

The British Civil Aviation Authority said it expects some disruptions to airlines and flights operating in the country due to the issue.

“We have been made aware of an issue that may affect some of the A320 family of aircraft and the precautionary action that EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) has taken,” Giancarlo Buono, director of aviation safety at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said.

In a statement, Airbus said it “acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers”.

The advisory follows an unnerving incident on October 30th involving a JetBlue aircraft flying from Cancún to Newark, New Jersey, that suffered a computer glitch, resulting in a sudden, unexpected downward pitch without pilot input.

Nobody was injured, and the jet diverted to Tampa, Florida, but a later investigation revealed that one of the plane’s elevator-aileron computers – known as ELAC 2 – had malfunctioned.

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The finding risks becoming a significant headache for Airbus, given the A320 family is the company’s by far most widely flown aircraft, with more than 11,000 aircraft in operation. Some airlines have already responded and begun performing the upgrades. American Airlines Group said about 340 jets are affected, and that the vast majority will receive the update today and tomorrow.

“Though we expect some delays as we accomplish these updates, we are intently focused on limiting cancellations – especially with customers returning home from holiday travel,” the carrier said in a statement.

According to people familiar with the situation, most of the jets can receive an uncomplicated update from the cockpit with minimal downtime. But about 1,000 older jets will need an actual hardware upgrade and will have to be grounded for the duration of the maintenance, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing non-public findings. – Bloomberg, Reuters