Global airlines raced to repair a software issue affecting Airbus A320 jets on Saturday, as a partial recall by the European planemaker grounded hundreds of flights across Asia and Europe, raising concerns over U.S. holiday travel.
Airlines worked through the night after regulators instructed them to implement the fixes before resuming operations. Carriers including American Airlines, Air India, Delta Air Lines, and Hungary’s Wizz Air reported they had completed or nearly completed updates to their fleets, with many saying there would be little disruption to schedules. Reuters reported that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy assured travelers that U.S. airlines were “on track” to meet the Sunday midnight deadline, adding that passengers “should not expect any major disruptions.”
The software glitch emerged following an unintended loss of altitude on a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark on October 30, which injured ten passengers. The incident prompted Airbus to issue a recall affecting more than 6,000 planes, or over half of the global A320-family fleet. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologized to airlines and passengers, calling the disruption “unacceptable” in a LinkedIn post reported by Reuters.
Industry analysts said the timing of the alert, during periods of low flight activity in Europe and Asia, helped airlines mitigate the worst potential impact. Steven Greenway, CEO of Saudi carrier Flyadeal, told Reuters that repairs to all 13 affected jets were completed by midnight, describing the effort as a “great team effort” aided by fortunate timing.
The fix involves reverting the software controlling the nose angle of the affected jets and, in some older planes, replacing hardware. By Saturday, Airbus indicated that fewer than 1,000 jets would require the more time-consuming hardware changes, easing the pressure on airlines. Nevertheless, aviation executives warned the recall was a rare and potentially costly challenge amid widespread labor and parts shortages.
Globally, about 11,300 single-aisle jets are in service, including 6,440 A320 models, many operated by major low-cost carriers. Flight tracking data showed most airports experienced moderate delays. In Asia, IndiGo completed the software reset on 184 of 200 affected planes, while Air India fixed 69 of 113 aircraft. Taiwan reported that roughly two-thirds of its A320 and A321 fleet needed updates. In Japan, ANA Holdings canceled 95 flights, affecting 13,500 passengers, while Japan Airlines, with a mostly Boeing fleet, was largely unaffected.
In the United States, American Airlines said 209 of its 480 A320 jets required the software update, most of which were expected to be completed by Saturday. Delta, JetBlue, and United Airlines are also major operators of the affected aircraft. Despite the critical timing for U.S. carriers ahead of Thanksgiving travel, analysts said European airlines would face minimal financial disruption because the recall occurred during a lull in their schedules.
Reuters noted that while the fix takes two to three hours per plane, airlines were able to implement it swiftly thanks to careful coordination and overnight work, preventing a larger operational crisis during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
