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Europe’s Airbus has ordered immediate repairs for 6,000 of its widely used A320 jets, a sweeping recall impacting over half the global fleet and threatening significant upheaval during the busiest US travel weekend, alongside worldwide disruption.
The mandatory fix, primarily a reversion to earlier software, must be implemented before aircraft can fly again, according to a bulletin seen by Reuters. Several airlines anticipate these repairs could cause flight delays or cancellations.
The Civil Aviation Authority warned that those aircraft will have to have software modified “or remain on the ground from Sunday onwards until the software has been changed”.
In most cases, the update is expected to take two hours. But with tight scheduling for many aircraft, disruption is likely.
But Britain’s three biggest A320 operators – British Airways, easyJet and Wizz Air – say their operations are unaffected.
Here are major disruptions flagged by airlines as Saturday morning in alphabetical order:
Aer Lingus
The Irish carrier said a limited number of aircraft were impacted.
Air France
The airline said it was cancelling 35 flights.
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American Airlines is expecting delays over the holidays after a major software issue grounds hundreds of planes (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
Air India
Air India, which has 113 impacted aircraft, has completed the software fix on 42 aircraft. It expects some flight delays but no cancellations.
Air India Express
Twenty-five aircraft need software fixes, India’s aviation regulator said.
Air New Zealand
The airline expects some cancellations to its services.
American Airlines
The world’s largest A320 operator said it expects some operational delays but cut the number of aircraft requiring the software fix to 209 from 340 it had forecast earlier.
ANA Holdings
The Japanese carrier cancelled 65 flights on Saturday.
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Avianca cancelled 65 flights on Saturday
Avianca
The Colombian carrier said the recall affected more than 70 per cent of its fleet, inevitably causing “significant” operational disruptions over the next 10 days. Avianca has closed ticket sales for travel dates through 8 December.
Delta Airlines
The U.S. carrier expects any operational impact to be limited.
flynas
The Saudi Arabian budget airline expects some flight delays.
IndiGo
India’s largest airline has completed the software fix on 143 out of 200 aircraft, the aviation regulator said. IndiGo has warned of some delays.
Korean Air
The South Korean airline said work on 10 affected aircraft would be completed by Sunday morning.
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Korean Air said work on 10 affected aircraft would be completed by Sunday morning (Associated Press)
Latam Airlines
The carrier said a limited number of aircraft needed software fixes.
Lufthansa
The German airline expects a small number of flight cancellations or delays over the weekend.
Turkish Airlines
The company said eight A320 aircraft would return to service after it completes the required actions.
United Airlines
The airline expects minor disruption to a few flights after it said six aircraft were affected by the recall.
Viva
The Mexican airline said its fleet would be affected by the software update, but no time frame has yet been determined for when aircraft will be ready to fly again.
Wizz Air
The European budget airline said the software update had been implemented overnight on all its affected A320s and no further disruption was anticipated.