Asian airlines moved on Saturday to address a software glitch affecting their Airbus A320 fleets after a major recall by the European planemaker grounded aircraft across the region. The disruption followed earlier delays in the US during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
The recall covers 6,000 aircraft, representing more than half of Airbus’ global A320 family fleet. The model is a central part of short haul aviation in Asia, particularly in China and India where growing economies have expanded air travel.
Regulators worldwide followed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in directing carriers to fix the A320 software fault before allowing the aircraft to return to service. Airbus issued the recall to 350 operators, marking one of the largest in its 55 year history and coming weeks after the A320 surpassed the Boeing 737 as the most delivered commercial aircraft.
The US Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to replace or modify software controlling elevators and ailerons on A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.
India’s aviation regulator said 338 Airbus aircraft in the country were affected but noted the software reset would be completed by Sunday. IndiGo has completed the reset on 143 of its 200 impacted aircraft, while Air India has reset 42 of 113 affected planes. Both carriers warned of delays on Saturday.
“There isn’t any major impact on schedule integrity across our network,” Air India posted on X. “However, some of our flights may be slightly delayed or rescheduled.”
Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration asked airlines to conduct inspections and maintenance, estimating that two thirds of the island’s 67 A320 and A321 aircraft require attention.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao instructed Air Macau to address the issue, including rescheduling flights to reduce passenger disruption.
Japan saw significant impact, with ANA Holdings cancelling 65 flights on Saturday and warning of further disruptions on Sunday. ANA and its affiliates operate the largest A320 fleet in Japan. Rival Japan Airlines, which mainly flies Boeing aircraft, was unaffected. Public broadcaster NHK reported that 95 flights were cancelled nationwide.
Globally, approximately 11,300 Airbus single aisle jets are in service, including 6,440 A320 aircraft. The required fix involves reverting to earlier software. Although considered straightforward, it must be completed before the aircraft can resume operations.
Faridah Adulkadiri
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