Airbus A320 Software Glitch Update: Has The Issue Been Resolved And What Should Travellers Expect Now?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Global airlines rushed to address a software glitch on Airbus A320 jets on Saturday as a partial recall by Airbus halted hundreds of flights in Asia and Europe and threatened US travel during the busiest weekend of the year.

Many airlines warned of delays and cancellations following an alert from Airbus, which suggested that up to 6,000 active A320 aircraft might require upgrades due to a software glitch.

Is the Airbus software glitch fixed? Are the planes operational?

According to a report by Reuters, airlines worked through the night after global regulators instructed them to rectify the issue before resuming flights. Several carriers, including United Airlines, Air India, Delta Air Lines, and Hungary's Wizz Air, said on Saturday that they had finished or nearly completed the fix to their fleets. Many reported no impact on operations.

Less than 24 hours after Airbus issued the alert, carriers including American Airlines, IndiGo, and easyJet Plc, the largest operators of the A320, had reverted to a previous version of the software for most of their fleets, enabling them to maintain largely normal operations, Bloomberg reported.

Also Read | Global airlines race to fix jets as Airbus apologises following A320 recall

American Airlines announced on Saturday that only four of its 209 affected aircraft still need maintenance. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Inc. stated separately that the A320 software issue had no impact on their operations.

IndiGo has informed of the completion of a mandatory Airbus system upgrade across its entire A320-family fleet, confirming that all 200 aircraft are now fully compliant with the latest safety requirements. Meanwhile, Air India has successfully completed the reset on over 90% of its operating A320 family aircraft that required an update, the airline said in a post on X.

Steven Greenway, CEO of Saudi carrier Flyadeal, mentioned that the recall occurred late in the evening, preventing more severe disruptions. The airline stated that it had repaired all 13 affected jets and planned to resume normal operations by midnight.

Hungarian discount airline Wizz Air Holdings Plc, with a fleet of around 250 Airbus aircraft, said that it completed the upgrades on all impacted Airbus A320 family planes overnight. Flight operations have now returned to normal.

Also Read | DGCA asks airlines not to operate certain Airbus models after software fix What should travellers expect?

Amid high demand due to the Thanksgiving holiday period, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that impacted American carriers“have reported great progress, and are on track to meet the deadline of this Sunday at midnight to complete the work.”

“Travellers SHOULD NOT expect any major disruptions,” Duffy said in a post on X, adding that all affected US airlines are on schedule to finish the required aircraft work by the Sunday midnight deadline.

What is the Airbus software issue?

On Friday, Airbus announced that high levels of solar radiation could corrupt essential flight control data in many A320 family aircraft. Implementing the necessary software updates to fix this issue was expected to cause operational disruptions.

The update mainly involves reverting to earlier software versions, and aircraft must undergo this change before being cleared to fly again, according to an airline bulletin reviewed by Reuters. Several airlines cautioned that completing these repairs might cause delays or cancellations.

Also Read | Air India, IndiGo warn of delays, longer turnaround time after Airbus directive

Aircraft that require the fix must revert to the previous software version, and data upload is likely to take as little as 2 to 3 hours. However, up to 1,000 older jets required a physical hardware upgrade and were grounded during the maintenance period, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the development.

Friday's alert came after an unintended loss of altitude on a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on October 30. This incident resulted in injuries to 10 passengers, and France's BEA accident agency is investigating, according to multiple reports.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury apologised to airlines and passengers after the unexpected recall.

"I want to sincerely apologise to our airline customers and passengers who are impacted now," Faury posted on LinkedIn.

How many aircrafts were impacted?

The European manufacturer reported that more than 6,000 aircraft were affected by the glitch, accounting for more than half of the worldwide A320 fleet, potentially risking data corruption vital for flight control systems under specific conditions.

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