Airbus Technical Advisory Forces PAL, Cebu Pacific to Cancel 84 Flights

Jeoffrey Maitem - : Nov 30, 2025 - : 10:10 am

A total of 84 Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific flights were canceled Saturday after Airbus issued a technical advisory affecting certain A320 and A321 aircraft models, the carriers said. The move follows a JetBlue incident last month tied to a...

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A total of 84 Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific flights were canceled Saturday after Airbus issued a technical advisory affecting certain A320 and A321 aircraft models, the carriers said.

The move follows a JetBlue incident last month tied to a software flaw later linked to solar radiation interference.

Regulators have warned of short-term disruptions as airlines update their systems. PAL said affected passengers may rebook, convert their tickets to travel credits, or request a refund.

Cebu Pacific said its operations and engineering teams are working to complete the required updates and advised passengers to check flight statuses on its website before heading to the airport.

Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said 75 aircraft in the Philippines were subject to the software update. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) recorded a total of 93 affected flights—82 cancelled and 11 delayed—as of Saturday morning.

“We talked with the airlines, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and the Civil Aeronautics Board, and we decided to immediately carry out the software update,” Lopez said in Filipino during a press conference.

In a statement, Airbus said that “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,” prompting a global response.

Lopez said the software update advisory from Airbus was received around 1 a.m. on Saturday and that implementation began an hour later. He stressed that safety remains the highest priority.

“We don’t want to take any risk at all. This directive came from the manufacturer itself so we need to comply,” he said in an ambush interview after the press conference.

Worldwide, as many as 6,000 Airbus A320 family jets may be affected. Airlines in the United States, Europe and South America—including American Airlines, Air France, Avianca and Air India—have also reported cancellations and delays while completing the required updates.