Airbus ordered a sweeping recall for thousands of aircraft on Friday — sparked widespread alarm about a global flight disruption amid the festive season. Immediate repairs have been ordered before 6,000 of its widely used A320 family of jets can fly again. The bulletin has already prompted cancellation and delay announcements from multiple airlines across the United States to South America, Europe, India and New Zealand.
According to the company, a recent incident had revealed that solar flares may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. Industry sources told Reuters that a JetBlue flight from Mexico to the United States had needed unexpected repair action — with several passengers hurt following a sharp loss of altitude. The aircraft had made an emergency landing in Florida after the flight control problem and a sudden un-commanded drop in altitude. The Federal Aviation Administration had also launched an investigation into the matter.
There are around 11,300 A320-family jets in operation across the world — including 6,440 of the core A320 mode. Four of the 10 biggest A320-family operators are major US airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines. Chinese, European and Indian carriers are also among its biggest customers. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an emergency directive on Friday night to make the fix mandatory.
What is the issue?
Sources told Reuters that the recall will result in only a brief grounding for approximately two-thirds of the affected jets as the airlines revert to a previous software version. The Airbus bulletin explained that the relatively simple process would take around two hours for each plane. But the developments come at a time when repair shops are being overwhelmed by maintenance work and labour shortages — with hundreds of Airbus jets grounded due to long waiting times for separate engine repairs or inspections.
An Airbus spokesperson estimated the repairs would affect 6,000 jets in total. The temporary groundings for repairs for some airlines could be much longer since more than 1,000 of the affected jets may also have to have hardware changed.
Who will be affected?
Multiple airlines have warned that the repairs could potentially cause flight delays or cancellations. Others including eastJet in Britain said they had already completed the changes.
American Airlines — the largest A320 operator in the world — said some 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft would need the fix. These are mostly expected to conclude by Saturday. Other airlines said they would take planes briefly out of service to do the repairs, including Germany’s Lufthansa , India’s IndiGo and UK-based easyJet. Colombian carrier Avianca said the recall affected more than 70% of its fleet, prompting it to close ticket sales for travel dates through December 8.
Airbus A320 Recall LIVE: American Airlines cuts number of jets needing software fix
American Airlines said on Friday it expects some operational delays due to a major software change on a significant number of Airbus A320 jets, initially adding that the issue impacted about 340 aircraft at the carrier.
After further clarification from Airbus, American said only 209 A320 family aircraft are affected, down from more than 340 initially identified.
As of 6 p.m. CT (0000 GMT), fewer than 150 aircraft remain to be updated, American said in a statement to Reuters. The airline expects the overwhelming majority to be completed overnight, with only a handful left for Saturday.
Airbus A320 Recall LIVE: Japan's ANA airlines cancels flights
According to a Reuters report, All Nippon Airways has cancelled 65 flights on Saturday after the recall. The carrier (along with affiliates such as Peach Aviation) is Japan's biggest operator of single-aisle Airbus aircraft.
Airbus A320 Recall LIVE: Air India warns about delays, shares message for passengers
Airbus A320 Recall LIVE: IndiGo issues advisory
“Safety comes first. Always. Airbus has issued a technical advisory for the global A320 fleet. We are proactively completing the mandated updates on our aircraft with full diligence and care, in line with all safety protocols. While we work through these precautionary updates, some flights may see some slight schedule changes,” warned IndiGo via X.
Airbus A320 Recall LIVE: Can planes fly before implementing updates?
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an emergency directive on Friday night to make the fix mandatory. The missive also stipulated that affected planes could only make "ferry flights" --- without passengers --- in order to get to a maintenance facility until the changes were made.
A later update from EASA reportedly indicated that an aircraft can continue operating until the end of today (23:59 GMT) in order to "allow aircraft to get to their destination and minimise disruption".
Airbus A320 Recall LIVE: Airlines around the world announce delays
Several airlines including American Airlines, Delta, Air India and Wizz have announced potential service disruptions. Around 6,000 flights have been affected amidst the unlikely crisis --- with various airlines taking different approaches to the necessary software upgrades.
American Airlines has rushed into overdrive after several hundred planes were affected while others such as the Colombian carrier Avianca opted to close ticket sales for travel dates through December 8. Many airlines have also issued follow-up statements after seeking clarifications from Airbus and local authorities.