Thousands of planes from Airbus’s widely-used A320 family have been ordered for repairs following a software issue.

The aircraft manufacturer is carrying out software updates for 6,000 of its jets – around half the global fleet – threatening travel disruption for airline passengers.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said it expects some disruptions to airlines and flights, with easyJet and Wizz Air saying they will take some planes briefly out of service to do the repairs.

But why have airlines been told to carry out a software update for the planes, and how is solar radiation involved?

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What triggered the repair order?

It is understood the incident that triggered the unexpected repair order involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on 30 October.

The flight suffered a control problem and a sudden uncommanded drop in altitude, basically a sharp loss of height, which left 15 passengers with injuries and forced the flight to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.

After investigating the incident, Airbus said “intense solar radiation” may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

The issue is known as bit flip, where solar radiation can strike a computer’s memory, changing its data from a 0 to a 1 and vice versa – a risk which also affects spacecraft.

Read more: Which airlines are affected by Airbus disruption?

‘Very concerning’ – but ‘very low likelihood’ of such an event

The situation was “very concerning”, travel expert Simon Calder told Sky News presenter Gillian Joseph.

However, he said there was a “very low likelihood” of such an event happening, adding: “In aviation, nothing is taken for granted.”

He said: “Aviation remains extraordinarily safe. And that is partly because as soon as a possible threat is identified, then action is taken immediately.”

What is the fix?

The fix involves reverting to earlier software, but must be carried out before the planes can fly again, according to a bulletin to airlines.

Airbus said for most of the affected aircraft, the required update would only take between two to three hours.

However, some jets may need to have their hardware replaced to adopt the required software – a process which would take a longer time.

The Airbus bulletin traced the problem to a flight system called ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer), which sends commands from the pilot’s side-stick to elevators at the rear of the plane, Reuters reported.

Those elevators control the aircraft’s pitch or nose angle, determining which way it is flying.

The A320 was first launched in 1984 and is the main competitor to the Boeing 737 MAX, which was grounded worldwide between March 2019 and December 2020, as well as during January 2024, after fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 caused by faulty flight-control software.

What do you do, how do you spend your time, when you’ve just lost everything you have? 

This was the dilemma for thousands today in Hong Kong.

On the whole, it seemed people chose to stay close to the scene.

Hong Kong fire block latest: More arrests in deadly tower blaze

The square that had become the heart of the community response was heaving. Many poured through the piles of clothes, blankets and other supplies.

Some simply sat and watched on, their faces blank and stunned.

Above them, the seven blackened towers are now still and quiet. The blaze is finally out.

But an unknown number are still lying somewhere inside – and the wait for news is unbearable.

“Even if they are dead, I just want to know,” cries Mr Lau, whose elderly parents lived 27 floors up. His grief is raw and unchecked.

“I want to ask John Lee [Hong Kong’s chief executive], what are you actually doing? All you did was wander around and hold press conferences. What about us?”

His questions reflect a noticeable shift in the tone here.

There is a tension emerging, an anxiety, even an anger.

Of course, people are furious with the construction company that was undertaking renovations and is accused of cutting corners.

But that is not their only target.

Many here believe the Beijing-backed government has not enforced good enough safety standards, batting away residents’ concerns and turning a blind eye to issues like overcrowding.

They say it is now too focused on deflecting the blame.

“With every building maintenance project, there are criticisms, but these criticisms are always suppressed,” explains one man who lives in the neighbourhood.

And do you think there’s corruption, I ask?

“Absolutely,” he says.

They are particularly exercised about what they see as an overfocus on the bamboo scaffolding.

Considered almost a part of Hong Kong’s cultural heritage, it was already being phased out. A convenient distraction from other failings, according to people here.

Tensions are high, too, between different groups of volunteers.

We witnessed two separate arguments where local grassroots organisers accused some who are part of a government-linked group of attempting to seize control and take the credit.

In the Hong Kong of old, there would almost certainly have been vigils here.

But after a massive crackdown on pro-democracy movements that climaxed in 2019, any mass gathering in today’s Hong Kong is seen as dangerous.

Even if it is just to honour the dead.

It feels like the resentments left over from that time are not that far from the surface.

This is still a human tragedy, but the fallout could well be political.

Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in the West Bank after they appeared to be surrendering.

Palestinians said the killings, which were captured on video and shown on two Arab TV channels, were carried out “in cold blood”.

In the video, the men were seen exiting a building and lying on the ground in front of Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Both men lifted their T-shirts and held their hands in the air, apparently to show they were not carrying weapons or explosives.

The soldiers then appeared to order the men back inside the building before they were shot.

A Reuters journalist in the area saw the men leave the building, appearing to surrender, and later, after hearing shots fired, saw Israeli forces standing near what appeared to be a lifeless body.

The men were identified as al Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasa, 37, by Palestinian authorities.

What has Israel said about the incident?

A joint statement between the Israeli Defence Forces and Israeli police said: “Earlier this evening (Thursday), during an Israel Border Police and IDF operation in the area of Jenin, the forces operated to apprehend wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces.

“The wanted individuals were affiliated with a terror network in the area of Jenin.

“The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited.

“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.

“The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”

Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the military and police unit involved in the shooting had his “full backing”.

“The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists should die!” he wrote on X.

‘An outright extrajudicial killing’

But Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli investigations in such incidents yield few results, with Israeli troops rarely prosecuted.

The Palestinian prime minister’s office in Ramallah also accused Israel of executing the men “in cold blood”, calling the shooting “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.

Yuli Novak, the executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, said: “The execution documented today is the result of an accelerated process of dehumanisation of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime.

“In Israel, there is no mechanism that acts to stop the killing of Palestinians or is capable of prosecuting those responsible.”

Read more from Sky News:
Hong Kongers reel from fire disaster
National Guard trooper shot in DC dies

Israel’s military has scaled up its military operations in the West Bank since the October 7 Hamas attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to B’Tselem, which said the perpetrators were “granted full impunity by Israel”.