Global recall of Airbus A320 planes

On Saturday morning, Airbus called for urgent repairs on 6,000 of its A320-200 jets, affecting more than half of the global fleet. 

By that evening, however, the company told airlines the recall might be less demanding than initially feared, according to industry sources. The move has caused worldwide disruptions, with engineers working to roll back affected planes to earlier software before they can return to service.

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VGR (MSN 4257)

Jetstar's chief pilot, Tyrone Simes, said the carrier had 85 A320s in its fleet, but only 34 had been identified as having the software "anomaly".

He could not say how many customers had been affected by the disruption to flights but said it would "certainly be into the thousands".

"It is a worldwide issue, so there are many thousands of customers right across the world with different airlines affected."

Mr. Simes said it was "difficult" to say how long the Jetstar disruptions would last but said most repairs could be completed by the end of today.

He said each impacted plane would be grounded for two to three hours while engineers carried out the software fix.

"We're hoping to get it all done today and expecting the potential for some minor disruption tomorrow," Mr. Simes said.

Impacted A320 planes that are not at airports with the necessary engineering support may be grounded longer. Mr. Simes said most of Jetstar's impacted aircraft were on Australia's east coast.

QANTASLINK AIRBUS A320-232 VH-UVO (MSN 2453)

Qantas also has A320s in its fleet, but a spokesperson said none of its services had been impacted.

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VNB (MSN 2906)

Virgin Australia emerged relatively unscathed from the global Airbus A320 recall that has severely impacted air travel worldwide. While Jetstar faces significant disruptions, Virgin Australia’s operations remain stable. The airline’s limited use of the A320 aircraft has positioned it to handle this industry challenge effectively. The news emphasizes Virgin Australia’s ability to maintain steady service despite broader industry disruptions.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority told the media it was aware of the issue "affecting the A320 family of aircraft globally".

"All aircraft that are affected will need to be checked in accordance with advice issued by Airbus and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency," a spokesperson said.

"We are in contact with major airlines and confident they are acting quickly to minimise disruptions and ensure aircraft can be returned to service safely."

About two-thirds of the affected aircraft worldwide will be briefly grounded, industry, while more than 1,000 may be grounded longer due to hardware changes.

Airbus said a recent incident involving an A320-family aircraft had revealed that solar flares may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

Industry sources said that the incident that triggered the unexpected repairs involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on the 30th of October.

There are around 11,300 A320-family jets in operation, including 6,440 of the core A320 model, which first flew in 1987.

Four of the world's ten biggest A320-family operators are major US airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines.

Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said 20 flights had been cancelled yesterday and today due to the glitch.

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A320-271 ZK-NHA (MSN 8715)

The national carrier had 37 A320 aircraft in its fleet.

PHILIPPINE AIRASIA AIRBUA A320-214 RP-C8946 (MSN 4397)

AIR MALTA AIRBUS A320-251 9H-NEE (MSN 11366)

IBERIA EXPRESS AIRBUS A320-214 EC-LLE (MSN 1119)

VUELING AIRBUS A320-214 EC-MAO (MSN 6081)

An update from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency advised that planes with the affected software could continue operating until 12.59pm on November 30 but need to be grounded after that.