(MENAFN) The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) Saturday mandating immediate software replacement or upgrades for specific Airbus A319 and A320/321 aircraft.

"The EAD requires replacing or modifying the software that controls the airplanes' elevator ailerons," the FAA said in a statement, adding the directive "is effective immediately."

Airlines must finalize the modifications before aircraft resume operations by early Sunday local time, officials stated. The order additionally bans installation of the compromised software on any planes.

The regulatory body indicated its action aligns with a previous directive from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The European aircraft manufacturer reported it detected "a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted."

The urgent directive follows an Oct. 30 JetBlue flight traveling from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, that encountered flight control malfunctions. The plane dropped 100 feet within seven seconds and was rerouted to Tampa, Florida, according to preliminary data from Flightradar24.

Airbus previously ordered an immediate precautionary software patch for its A320 family after determining that intense solar radiation could corrupt data critical to flight-control functions.

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