The Airbus A320 was the first commercial aircraft to use a digital fly-by-wire flight-control system in airline service.
In a fly-by-wire system, pilot inputs are transmitted electronically to flight-control computers rather than directly through conventional mechanical linkages. The computers interpret those inputs and command the aircraft’s control surfaces through electronic and hydraulic systems.
The A320 also introduced a side-stick controller instead of a traditional control column. Its flight-control computers include protections intended to keep the aircraft within defined operating limits, although the exact behavior depends on the control law and flight condition.
The A320 entered service with Air France in 1988. Later Airbus commercial aircraft, including the A330, A340, A350, and A380, continued the company’s fly-by-wire philosophy. The A320 should not be confused with the first fly-by-wire aircraft of any kind, since earlier military aircraft used related technologies.