Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane among airports affected globally by recall of Airbus planes

Air New Zealand said it canceled 12 flights in response to Airbus’ order.

Safety and Risk Manager Nathan McGraw said new guidance was issued to aircraft affected by the software recall on Saturday, allowing affected aircraft to continue operating until 10.59am (AEDT).

“This means we can operate A320 services today, where possible, before starting the necessary upgrades,” he said.

“Air New Zealand will begin implementing updates to its A320 fleet as quickly as possible to minimize ongoing disruption.”

According to aviation analytics company Cirium, 2,274 Airbus A320s are in service in the Asia-Pacific region; This figure is more than any other region in the world.

Europe’s Airbus said it has placed an order for emergency repairs of 6,000 of its widely used A320 family jets.

The setback appears to be one of the largest recalls in Airbus’ 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most delivered model.

Approximately 11,300 A320 family jets are in operation, including 6440 of the A320 model that first flew in 1987.

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Approximately 3,000 A320 family jets were in the air when Airbus issued its bulletin to more than 350 aircraft operators.

Earlier, Airbus released a statement saying, “A recent incident involving A320 Family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation can corrupt data critical to the operation of flight controls.”

Airbus later said it had identified a “significant number” of its aircraft that may have been affected.

Reuters, citing industry sources, said the incident in question was related to an incident. JetBlue flight from Cancun, MexicoTo Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, following a sharp loss of altitude, several passengers were injured.

Flight 1230 made an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida, after a flight control issue and sudden uncommanded altitude drop, prompting an FAA investigation.

Cebu Pacific, which flies to the Philippines from Sydney and Melbourne, also went to X to confirm it was affected.

“Our operations and engineering teams are working diligently to complete updates as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he said.. “We have also deployed additional airport staff to assist passengers.”

Cebu Pacific urges passengers traveling in the next 48 hours to check the status of their flights on its website “before heading to the airport.”

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority said it was aware of the issue affecting A320s globally and was confident major airlines were acting quickly to ensure aircraft safety and minimize disruption to passengers.

American Airlines, the world’s largest A320 operator, said about 340 aircraft – 70 percent of its A320 fleet – would need the fix.

In Colombia, the recall also affects 70 percent of airline Avianca’s fleet. The airline has closed ticket sales until December 8.

Other airlines, including Germany’s Lufthansa, India’s IndiGo and UK-based easyJet, said they would take planes out of service briefly to allow for repairs.

The British Aviation Authority and India’s national carrier Air India said they were aware of Airbus’ directive and expected disruptions to flights in their countries.