Airbus has ordered immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely used A320-family jets, a sweeping recall impacting more than half the global fleet and threatening major travel disruptions across the United States and around the world.
The directive, confirmed Friday, follows an incident linked to potential software corruption caused by solar flares, which Airbus says may affect data critical to flight controls. According to a bulletin sent to more than 350 operators, the fix primarily involves reverting to earlier software and must be implemented before aircraft can resume flying, aside from repositioning flights to repair centres.
At the time the bulletin was issued, more than 3,000 A320-family aircraft were in the air, underscoring the scale of the disruption.
Industry sources said the recall appears to be one of the largest in Airbus’ 55-year history, coming just weeks after the A320 surpassed the Boeing 737 as the world’s most-delivered aircraft model.
Airlines warn of delays, cancellations, grounded jets
Airlines from the US, Europe, India, South America, and New Zealand have all warned of service disruptions. Many carriers expect delays or flight cancellations as jets undergo the mandatory two-hour software rollback.
American Airlines, the world’s largest A320 operator, said 340 of its 480 aircraft require the fix. The airline expects most repairs to be completed by Saturday, with each aircraft needing approximately two hours of work.
Lufthansa said a small number of cancellations or delays are expected over the weekend, noting that implementing the measures may take several hours per aircraft.
Avianca, whose fleet is heavily dependent on the A320, said over 70% of its aircraft are affected. The Colombian carrier has suspended ticket sales through December 8 due to “significant” operational disruptions.
easyJet has already completed updates on many affected aircraft and expects to operate normally on Saturday.
Air France cancelled 35 flights on Friday — about 5% of its daily schedule.
Air New Zealand said its A320neo fleet would require updates before their next flights, warning of cancellations on Saturday.
