Just as millions gear up for Thanksgiving travel, Airbus dropped a bombshell: a recall of over 6,000 A320 jets worldwide 🚨✈️. This comes after a software glitch in the flight-control system forced airlines to revert to an older version before these planes can fly again.
The recall affects more than half of the global A320 fleet, with roughly 3,000 jets already in the air when the bulletin went out last Friday. Airlines from the U.S. to India and Europe are scrambling: American Airlines needs to update about 340 of its 480 A320s (each fix takes around two hours), while India’s IndiGo, Germany’s Lufthansa and UK-based easyJet are also grounding planes briefly for the software roll-back.
For some carriers, the headache could last longer. Industry sources say over 1,000 jets might need hardware replacements too, pushing maintenance slots to the limit amid an ongoing labor crunch. Colombian carrier Avianca has paused ticket sales through December 8, and Air France is already canceling 35 daily flights.
The recall was triggered by a scary altitude dip on a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark on October 30. Airbus even flagged that intense solar flares could corrupt critical flight-control data 🌞⚙️.
Whether you’re flying with IndiGo back home for the holidays or planning a getaway in Bali, expect possible delays. Pro tip: keep an eye on your airline app for real-time updates and flight-status alerts 📲.
We’ll keep you posted on any new developments! ✌️
Reference(s):
Airbus issues major A320 recall, disrupts Thanksgiving travel
cgtn.com
