Airlines worldwide scrambled on Saturday to repair a critical software glitch in Airbus A320-family jets, after a surprise recall halted hundreds of flights across Asia and Europe and raised concerns for the busy U.S. Thanksgiving travel weekend.
The European planemaker’s recall affects 6,000 A320-family aircraft, more than half of the global fleet, following a flight-control software vulnerability exposed during an Oct. 30 JetBlue incident in which a jet suffered an unintended loss of altitude, injuring 10 passengers.
Airlines Work Overnight to Avoid Major Chaos
Regulators instructed airlines to fix the issue before returning the jets to service, prompting carriers across the world to work through the night.
- Delta Air Lines and Wizz Air completed all required fixes with no operational disruptions.
- Aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said the situation created “short-term headaches” but avoided widespread chaos.
The recall landed at a time when most Asian and European airlines were winding down operations for the night — a lucky break that allowed repairs with limited impact. In the U.S., however, the alert arrived during peak holiday travel.
Airbus CEO Issues Public Apology
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologized to airlines and passengers, calling the recall “sincerely regrettable.”
The affected jets include A319, A320, A321, and their neo variants — the backbone of global short- and medium-haul fleets.
What Caused the Recall?
Investigators believe the incident involving JetBlue may have been triggered by a software fault potentially worsened by solar flare radiation, according to France’s BEA accident agency.
Airlines are now required to roll back the software to a previous version and, in some cases, replace hardware components in older jets.
Fix Is Simple but Time-Consuming
The repair requires 2–3 hours per aircraft. Airbus later clarified that fewer planes will need hardware replacements than initially estimated.
Global Impact: Who’s Affected?
- IndiGo (India): 184 of 200 jets already fixed.
- Air India: 69 of 113 aircraft completed.
- Wizz Air: Entire affected fleet updated overnight.
- AirAsia: Targets completion within 48 hours.
- ANA (Japan): Cancelled 95 flights, affecting 13,500 passengers.
- Jetstar (Australia): Some flights impacted.
- American Airlines: 209 of 480 jets need the fix, largely completed by Saturday.
- Delta, United, JetBlue: Also affected due to large A320 fleets.
Why the Timing Matters
While the recall hit during a calmer period for European travel, U.S. airlines face heavy demand following Thanksgiving, increasing pressure to resolve issues quickly.
Aviation consultant John Strickland said the main concern is the short notice and scale: “Any operational challenge affecting a large part of your fleet is tough to deal with.”
