Airbus on Friday ordered immediate repairs to thousands of A320 family aircraft, affecting major airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
The order affects around 6,000 jets, making it one of the largest recalls in the European aerospace giant’s history. According to Reuters, the directive also comes during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the US.
“An analysis of a recent event involving an A320 family aircraft has shown that intense solar radiation can damage data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” Airbus said in a statement. “Airbus has therefore identified a significant number of A320 family aircraft currently in service that may be affected.”
The recall was triggered by an Oct. 30 JetBlue flight traveling from Cancun to New Jersey that was forced to divert to Tampa after a sudden drop in altitude injured several passengers, according to Reuters.
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Fuselage parts of Airbus A320 family aircraft are seen at the Airbus factory in Montoir-de-Bretagne near Saint-Nazaire, France, on July 1, 2020. (REUTERS/Stephane Mahe)
The repair mainly involves reverting planes to a previous software version, and the update must be completed before the planes are allowed to fly, Reuters reported.
American Airlines said about 340 of its 480 A320 family aircraft will need the update and expects most of the work to be completed “today or tomorrow.”
According to the airline, the process takes approximately two hours by plane.
“While we expect some delays as we implement these updates, we are intently focused on limiting cancellations – especially as customers return from leisure travel,” American said in a statement.
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An American Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft passes the dome of the US Capitol in Washington as it lands at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday, November 7, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Delta Air Lines said fewer than 50 A321neo aircraft in its fleet are affected and expects all updates to be completed by Saturday morning.
“As safety comes first, Delta will fully comply with a directive and expects any resulting operational impact to be limited,” Delta said in a statement.
“We expect minor disruption to some flights,” a United spokesperson said.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines are four of the world’s ten largest operators of Airbus A320 family aircraft, according to Reuters.
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A Delta Air Lines Airbus A320 passenger plane taxis a day before Thanksgiving at Salt Lake City International Airport, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 21, 2012. (REUTERS/George Frey)
Other major airlines – including Germany’s Lufthansa, India’s IndiGo and Britain’s easyJet – said they would briefly take the affected planes out of service to complete repairs, Reuters reported.
The recall also prompted Colombian airline Avianca to suspend ticket sales for travel through December 8, as more than 70% of its fleet is affected, according to Reuters.
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