Air New Zealand says it has cancelled 12 flights in response to the Airbus order.
Chief Safety and Risk Officer Nathan McGraw said aircraft affected by the software recall were issued a fresh directive on Saturday, allowing affected aircraft to continue operating until 10.59am AEDT.
Air New Zealand has also been affected by the A320 recall.Credit: Laurent Errera
“This means that, where possible, we can operate A320 services today before commencing the required updates,” he said.
“Air New Zealand will begin rolling through the updates to its A320 fleet as quickly as possible to minimise ongoing disruptions.”
There are 2274 Airbus A320s in service in the Asia-Pacific region, more than any other single region globally, according to Cirium aviation analytics company.
Europe’s Airbus said it was ordering immediate repairs to 6000 of its widely used A320 family of jets.
The setback appears to be among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered model.
There are about 11,300 A320-family jets in operation, including 6440 of the core A320 model, which first flew in 1987.
Loading
About 3000 A320-family jets were in the air when Airbus issued its bulletin to more than 350 of the plane’s operators.
Earlier, Airbus released a statement saying “a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls”.
Airbus said it subsequently identified “a significant number” of its aircraft which may be affected.
Reuters, citing industry sources, said the incident in question involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, during which several passengers were injured after a sharp loss of altitude.
Flight 1230 made an emergency landing at Tampa, Florida, after a flight control problem and a sudden uncommanded drop in altitude, prompting an FAA investigation.
Cebu Pacific, which flies from Sydney and Melbourne to the Philippines, also took to X to confirm it is affected.
Inside an Airbus A320-200 aircraft cabin.Credit: Getty Images
“Our operations and engineering teams are working diligently to complete the updates as quickly and efficiently as possible,” it said. “We have also deployed additional airport staff to assist passengers.”
Cebu Pacific urges passengers travelling within the next 48 hours to check their flight’s status on the website “before heading to the airport”.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority said it was aware of the issue affecting the A320s globally, and that it was confident major airlines were acting quickly to ensure aircraft safety and minimise traveller disruptions.
Overseas, the world’s largest A320 operator, American Airlines, said some 340 aircraft – 70 per cent of its A320 fleet – would need the fix.
In Colombia, the recall is also affecting 70 per cent of the airline Avianca’s fleet. The airline has closed ticket sales until December 8.
Other airlines said they would take planes briefly out of service to do the repairs, including Germany’s Lufthansa, India’s IndiGo, and UK-based easyJet.
Britain’s Aviation Authority and India’s national carrier, Air India, said they were aware of Airbus’ directive and expected disruptions to flights in their countries.
