A Latam Airlines Airbus A320 sits on the tarmac at El Dorado Airport in Bogota on November 28, 2025.
Sergio Yate | Afp | Getty Images
Thousands of travelers worldwide were stranded after the Airbus ordered immediate software fixes for 6,000 A320 series aircraft, a move that affected more than half of the narrow-body fleet and forced airlines to ground jets on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
The Policy – one of the largest in the 55-year history of airbus – quickly spread to leisure travel in the US and extended to Australia. The solar flare-related disruption hit Asia particularly hard, where the single-aisle A320 family anchors short-haul networks.
American Airlinesthe world’s largest A320 operator said more than 200 aircraft were affected. The airline later said that only four aircraft needed to be upgraded as of 8 a.m. ET. “American does not expect any further operational impacts related to the emergency airworthiness directive and looks forward to the remaining days of the Thanksgiving travel period, particularly Sunday, our most traveled day,” the airline said.
United Airlines Six aircraft in its fleet are affected and the airline expects “minor disruption to some flights”. Delta Air Lines said fewer than 50 of its Airbus A320 fleet were affected.
Japan ANA holdings On Saturday, 95 domestic flights were canceled, affecting around 13,200 passengers. The airline, along with subsidiaries such as Peach Aviation, operates and competes with the largest Airbus narrow-body fleet in the country Japan Airlines relies mainly on Boeing aircraft.
Air India, which is partly owned by Singapore Airlinessaid it had implemented software updates for over 40% of its affected aircraft and that there had been no flight cancellations, although some flights had been delayed or postponed.
Scoot, another carrier in the Singapore Airlines group, said 21 of its 29 A320s needed repairs and that it aimed to complete the work by Saturday.
In Australia, Jetstar Airways canceled around 90 flights after identifying 34 aircraft that required the software fix.
“As of 3:30 p.m. (local time), 20 of the 34 affected aircraft are operational again. We expect the remaining aircraft to be operational overnight, allowing flights to resume as planned on Sunday, November 30,” a Jetstar spokesperson told CNBC.
The low-cost airline and its parent company, Qantasthe national airline of Australia, together holds approx 65% of the domestic market. rival Virgin Australiawhich has four A320s in its fleet and holds a 35% share, said it was not affected by the recall.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said in a directive on Friday that a JetBlue The Oct. 30 flight experienced an “uncommanded and limited pitch-down event.” The US Federal Aviation Administration has also issued one Emergency Policy Later in the day, the company asked operators of the affected model to fix the error.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in a LinkedIn post: “The required repairs of some A320 aircraft have caused significant logistical challenges and delays since yesterday.
