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02-12-2025
TOKYO/ NEW DELHI/ PARIS: Global airlines scrambled to fix a software glitch on Airbus A320 jets on Saturday as a partial recall by the European planemaker halted hundreds of flights in Asia and Europe and threatened US travel over the busiest weekend of the year.
Airlines worked through the night after global regulators told them to remedy the problem before resuming flights. Several carriers on Saturday said they had finished or nearly completed the fix to their fleets, including American Airlines, opens new tab, United Airlines, opens new tab, Air India, Delta Air Lines, opens new tab and Hungary’s Wizz Air, opens new tab. Many reported no impact on operations.
The overnight effort by airlines appeared to help head off the worst-case scenario and capped the number of flight delays in Asia and Europe. In the United States, which will face high demand after the Thanksgiving holiday period, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that impacted US carriers “have reported great progress, and are on track to meet the deadline of this Sunday at midnight to complete the work.”
He said on social media, opens new tab that travelers “SHOULD NOT expect any major disruptions.”
Asia-based aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said the update was “not as chaotic as some people might think,” although “it does create some short-term headaches for operations.”
Airbus, opens new tab CEO Guillaume Faury apologized to airlines and passengers after the surprise recall of 6,000 planes or more than half of the global A320-family fleet, which recently overtook the Boeing 737 as the industry’s most-delivered model.
“I want to sincerely apologize to our airline customers and passengers who are impacted now,” Faury posted on LinkedIn.
Friday’s alert followed an unintended loss of altitude on an October 30 JetBlue, opens new tab flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, which injured 10 passengers, according to France’s BEA accident agency, which is probing the incident.
The alert landed at a time of day when many European airlines and Asian airlines are winding down their schedules, which mostly do not require the short- to medium-haul jets like the A320 to be flying at night, leaving time for repairs.
In the United States, however, it came during the day ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel weekend.
American Airlines, the world’s largest A320 operator, said 209 of its 480 jets needed the fix, below initial estimates, most of which it expected to complete by Saturday. United Airlines told media on Saturday that all its aircraft had been updated.
European low-fare carrier Wizz Air said updates had been implemented overnight on all its affected jets and AirAsia, one of the world’s largest A320 customers, said it aimed to complete fixes in 48 hours. India’s aviation regulator said on Saturday that carriers IndiGo, opens new tab and Air India were expected to complete the process on Saturday. ANA Holdings, opens new tab cancelled 95 flights on Saturday, affecting 13,500 travelers.
Steven Greenway, CEO of Saudi carrier Flyadeal, said that the recall had hit late in the evening, which had avoided more serious disruption. The airline said it had fixed all 13 affected jets and would resume normal operations by midnight.
“It was a great team effort but our luck also held up in the timing,” Greenway told media.
Airlines must revert to a previous version of software in a computer that helps determine the nose angle of the affected jets and in some cases must also change the hardware itself, mainly on older planes in service. (Int’l News Desk)
