Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologised to airlines and passengers for the recall, seen as the biggest in the European aerospace major’s history.

One of the world’s largest airplane makers said Friday that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight controls on a “significant number” of its most popular aircraft, prompting a swift response from several airlines. Airbus attributed the revelation to a recent analysis involving its A320 family of aircraft.

The software needs to be changed on about 6,000 planes after one flight was forced to divert when it unexpectedly lost altitude last month.

Major airlines face holiday disruptions as Airbus A320 aircraft require urgent software fixes, affecting American Airlines and Delta fleets nationwide.

US airlines with Airbus A320 jets to face operational delays this week? The Airbus software issue has triggered an urgent update order for A320 aircraft. American Airlines says about 340 planes need updates.