Global airlines worked through Saturday to fix a software glitch affecting Airbus A320 jets after a partial recall by the European planemaker halted hundreds of flights across Asia and Europe, raising concerns about disruptions in the United States during the busy Thanksgiving travel period.
Carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta, Air India, and Hungary’s Wizz Air reported significant progress, with many completing or nearly completing the required updates. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy assured travelers that major disruptions were unlikely.
The recall follows an October 30 JetBlue flight incident in which the aircraft experienced an unintended loss of altitude, injuring ten passengers.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologized to both airlines and passengers, acknowledging the inconvenience caused by the surprise recall that affects more than 6,000 A320-family planes globally—over half the model’s fleet.
The timing of the recall helped some airlines, particularly in Europe and Asia, where many A320s are not flying overnight, allowing maintenance teams to perform repairs.
In the U.S., the alert came ahead of the holiday travel surge, with American Airlines needing to update 209 of its 480 jets, and United Airlines reporting completion of all necessary fixes. Airlines like AirAsia and IndiGo aimed to complete the updates within 48 hours, while ANA Holdings canceled 95 flights, affecting 13,500 passengers.
The software fix involves reverting to a previous version controlling the aircraft’s nose angle, with some older planes requiring hardware adjustments.
Each update takes two to three hours per jet. Tracker data showed most airports operating with manageable delays despite the recall, and industry sources suggested fewer planes would need extensive hardware changes than initially feared.
While the issue has caused short-term operational headaches, the swift response limited disruption. Analysts note that the abrupt recall highlights vulnerabilities in airline operations, particularly amid ongoing labor and parts shortages. Questions remain regarding potential links between solar flare activity and the JetBlue incident, which French investigators are treating as a minor safety occurrence.
Airlines continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure passenger safety and minimal interruption during a peak travel period.
