The aircraft carrying Pope Leo XIV on his Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon was briefly grounded over the weekend after Airbus ordered an urgent safety update affecting thousands of planes worldwide.
The directive came after a JetBlue flight experienced a sharp and unexpected drop in altitude last month, prompting a review by the aircraft manufacturer. On November 28, Airbus instructed operators of its A320 family of aircraft to install an immediate software update. According to the company, new analysis showed that “intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.”
More than 6,000 planes currently in service were impacted, with an estimated 3,000 in the air at the time the alert was issued, the New York Post reported.
Among the affected aircraft was the ITA Airways plane transporting Pope Leo XIV. The airline confirmed that while the pontiff was in Istanbul, the carrier dispatched the necessary components and an additional technician to perform the software update on-site, ensuring the journey could continue safely.
Catholic news outlet Crux reported that a replacement monitor was flown from Rome to Istanbul on Saturday, arriving mid-afternoon. Technicians completed the software installation by early evening, and the aircraft was cleared to continue to Beirut on Sunday.
The Vatican has not yet commented publicly on the incident.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration issued its own Emergency Airworthiness Directive following Airbus’ announcement. The order required airlines to replace or modify the software responsible for controlling an aircraft’s elevator ailerons — systems essential for rotation and altitude control — before 12:01 a.m. on November 30.
The concern follows an October 30 JetBlue flight from Cancún to Newark, during which a sudden altitude drop sent 15 to 20 passengers to the hospital and forced an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.
Reuters reports that roughly 11,300 A320-family aircraft are in operation globally. Major U.S. carriers — including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and United Airlines — are among the largest operators of the model.
