Flyadeal among those in race to complete Airbus A320 software update following EASA directive
December 1, 2025
Saudi low-cost carrier, flyadeal, has completed mandatory Airbus A320 software updates following a global directive issued late on 28 November by the European Union Safety Agency (EASA).
The directive – issued after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard control computers – required all airlines globally operating Airbus A320-family aircraft to implement immediate software changes related to flight operations safety.
Airbus worked proactively with aviation authorities to request immediate precautionary action from operators via an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) to implement the available software and/ or hardware protection to ensure its fleet is safe to fly.
Flyadeal responds to EASA directive with operational resilience
Only 13 of flyadeal’s 43-strong A320 fleet were affected. The airline confirmed early on Saturday 29 November, that it expects all operations to return fully to normal by midnight tonight (29 November).
“I can’t say the past 12 hours have been easy,” said flyadeal CEO, Steven Greenway, in a Linkedin post this morning.
“Late last night, flyadeal received an Airworthiness Directive (AD) from Airbus for an urgent software update that affected more than 25% of our fleet. Teams from across the company leapt into action, immediately grounding the affected aircraft, undertaking the software update, and working to minimise disruption to our Saturday schedule.”
Flyadeal leases wide-body aircraft to reaccommodate affected passengers
While a total of 28 flights were cancelled, Greenway added that the airline was able to reaccommodate the majority of impacted customers onto 14 wide-body wet-lease aircraft replacement flights that were stood up with a short turnaround.
The airline’s operations, engineering and customer experience teams worked round the clock to minimise disruption. Flyadeal contacted affected passengers directly by email and SMS with rebooking and support options.
A statement from the airline read: “Our focus throughout has been on operational safety and protecting customers on today’s flying schedule. No flights are being impacted on Sunday 30 November.”
Wizz Air’s race to update software
European low-cost carrier Wizz Air was also among the airlines that issued a statement earlier this morning confirming that it had successfully completed the software update required by Airbus overnight on Friday 28 November. While the airline warned that thee may be some disruptions, it expects all scheduled flights this weekend to operate as normal.
Avianca A320 fleet to remain grounded for up to 10 days
Meanwhile, Colombian carrier, Avianca has grounded its fleet of A320s, which account for more than 70% of its fleet.
The airline said that although it began working on the modifications required immediately, it expects significant operational disruptions to occur over the next 10 days. Avianca has closed ticket sales for travel dates through 8 December “in order to avoid a greater impact and facilitate the reaccommodation of passengers on available flights.
