Airlines Face Global Disruptions as Airbus Issues Urgent Software Fix for A320 Fleet

Airlines across multiple continents faced short-term disruptions heading into the weekend after Airbus warned carriers to immediately install a software update for the A320 family of aircraft. The update follows an investigation into a JetBlue incident last month in which a sudden altitude drop injured at least 15 passengers.

According to Airbus, the review of the JetBlue event found that intense solar radiation can corrupt critical flight-control data on A320-series aircraft, including the A320neo. The vulnerability was introduced by a recent onboard computer software update, European regulators said.The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have now required airlines to deploy the new fix. More than 500 U.S.-registered aircraft are affected.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologized to airlines on Saturday, writing on LinkedIn that the mandatory update had caused “significant logistical challenges and delays,” adding that teams were “working around the clock” to help operators restore normal schedules.

The timing hit U.S. carriers during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, as Thanksgiving travelers began returning home.

• American Airlines said 209 of its A320-family aircraft required the fix. By Saturday, only four still needed the update, and the airline said it expected “no further operational impact.”
   
• Delta Air Lines said fewer than 50 of its A321neo aircraft were affected.
   
• United Airlines reported six affected aircraft and anticipated only minor disruptions.
   
• Hawaiian Airlines said it had no aircraft impacted.
   
• Air India said engineers had completed resets on more than 40% of its affected fleet with no cancellations.

A320-family aircraft are among the most widely used in the world, serving as the backbone of many domestic and regional fleets. International carriers also scrambled to apply the software patch:

• All Nippon Airways canceled 65 domestic flights Saturday and warned more cancellations were possible Sunday.
   
• Lufthansa said most updates were completed overnight, with no cancellations expected, though minor delays remained possible.
   
• British Airways said only three aircraft required the fix.
   
• EasyJet warned schedules may change and said passengers would be notified if so.
   
• Scandinavian Airlines reported normal operations after completing overnight updates.
   
• French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said airports in France were experiencing an “almost complete return to normal.”

The issue extended beyond commercial routes.Pope Leo XIV, currently traveling to Turkey and Lebanon, is flying aboard an ITA Airways Airbus A320neo. The Vatican said ITA was working on the fix and a technician with the required component was en route to Istanbul to update the aircraft before Sunday’s flight to Beirut.

The software concerns came to light after a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark on October 30 suddenly lost altitude, injuring 15 passengers. The aircraft diverted to Tampa, where the injured were taken to a hospital.Industry experts said the fix can typically be completed between flights or during overnight maintenance. Mike Stengel of AeroDynamic Advisory noted that while the timing is “definitely not ideal,” the update itself only takes a few hours to install.

About the Airbus A320 Family

The Airbus A320 family, including A320ceo and A320neo variants, is the world’s bestselling single-aisle commercial aircraft and the primary competitor to Boeing’s 737. Airbus, headquartered in France and registered in the Netherlands, is one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers.

Stocks.News holds positions in United Airlines as mentioned in the article.