Global airlines scramble to fix Airbus A320 software glitch; flights affected

Global airlines scrambled to fix a newly identified software glitch flagged by Airbus in its A320 family of aircraft, and although many carriers rushed to apply the update overnight, the issue still triggered widespread disruption to flight operations around the world.

The mandatory fix — aimed at preventing a rare flight-control data error — forced airlines to ground or delay dozens of aircraft as regulators moved swiftly to enforce compliance.

Airbus on Friday ordered an urgent software update across the A320 family after an investigation found that intense solar radiation can corrupt data used by flight-control computers, creating a risk of uncommanded control inputs. The move affects roughly 6,000 A320-family jets — more than half the worldwide fleet — and has prompted emergency directives from aviation regulators and a rapid maintenance drive by carriers around the world. 

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in an X post:" The fix required on some A320 aircraft has been causing significant logistical challenges and delays since yesterday."

"Our teams are working around the clock to support our operators and ensure these updates are deployed as swiftly as possible to get planes back in the sky and resume normal operations, with safety assurance you expect from Airbus."

What caused the action

The precaution follows an October incident involving a JetBlue A320-family jet that experienced a sudden pitch/altitude upset; investigators traced the anomaly to corrupted flight-control data and Airbus said intense solar radiation may have been the trigger. Airbus issued an Alert Operators Transmission and regulatory bodies including EASA moved quickly to convert that guidance into an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD). 

Scale and immediate effects

Airbus and regulators say the fix for many aircraft is a software rollback or patch that can be completed in a few hours, but a subset of older systems will require hardware replacements that take longer. The urgency — and the timing during a busy travel weekend in the United States and elsewhere — led to flight delays, some cancellations and temporary groundings as airlines applied the updates. Examples reported by carriers and news agencies include American, IndiGo, Jetstar, ANA, Avianca and a range of European and Asian operators. 

Middle East/Gulf impact

In the Gulf, major network carriers reported limited operational disruption after rapid action by their engineering teams: 

Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, on Saturday confirmed that its A320 operations are running as normal following the completion of the mandatory Airbus-directed software update. The airline carried out the required work promptly after Airbus issued a global alert advising operators to apply the update before their next scheduled flights. 

The update was completed across Gulf Air’s A320 fleet alongside all mandated checks, in full accordance with the latest A320 Alert Operations guidelines, it said.

Etihad said it has also completed the required updates and restored usual A320 operations.  Air Arabia confirmed it was implementing the required software and technical updates and working to minimise passenger impact. 

Saudia and other Saudi operators said they were reviewing affected aircraft and assessing schedule impacts; passengers were urged to check notifications.

flyadeal said it has successfully completed mandatory aircraft software updates and expects operations to be fully back to normal by midnight tonight (Nov 29). Only 13 of flyadeal’s 43-strong fleet were affected.

"Our operations, engineering and customer experience teams worked round the clock to minimise disruption. Passengers were contacted directly by email and SMS with rebooking and support options," the airline said. 

Emirates and some Gulf operators were largely unaffected because they operate few or no A320-family types on their mainline long-haul fleets; low-cost and regional operators that do use A320 variants were the ones managing updates. 

Overall, Gulf carriers moved quickly and most reported only minimal or short-term disruption after the mandated updates were performed. 

What passengers should expect

Airlines emphasised safety as the priority and advised passengers to check flight status and accept rebooking or refund options where cancellations occur. For many operators the software change takes a few hours and can be done overnight; however, carriers with large A320 fleets warned of potential knock-on delays while work is completed.  -TradeArabia News Service