CNA Staff, Nov 29, 2025 /
08:30 am
The papal plane set to fly Pope Leo XIV from Turkey to Lebanon on Sunday is one of thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft affected by a computer issue.
Around 6,000 Airbus planes were grounded this weekend after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers, according to the BBC.
For most of the affected aircraft, the issue could be resolved with a software update, but around 900 planes, including the papal plane, needed onboard computers physically replaced.
According to Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni, a plane arrived in Istanbul from Rome on Saturday with a technician and the replacement computer for Pope Leo’s ITA Airways A320neo.
Leo is scheduled to take a two-hour flight from Istanbul to Beirut around midday on Nov. 30 for the second leg of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency’s senior Vatican correspondent. After growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, she earned a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri. In 2016, she moved to Rome, Italy, where in her spare time she enjoys reading and going on adventures with her husband and son.
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