Airbus orders immediate repairs on aircraft affecting American, Delta

Airbus on Friday ordered immediate repairs for thousands of its A320 family aircraft, affecting major airlines including American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

The order affects nearly 6,000 aircraft, making it one of the largest recalls in the history of the European aviation giant. The guidance also comes amid the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States, according to Reuters.

Airbus said in a statement: “An analysis of a recent event involving an A320 family aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data important to the operation of flight control devices.” “Airbus has therefore identified a significant number of A320 family aircraft currently in service that may be affected.”

The recall was due to an Oct. 30 JetBlue flight from Cancun to New Jersey that had to divert to Tampa after a sudden drop in altitude left several passengers injured, according to Reuters.

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Reuters reported that the fix primarily involves returning the plane to a previous version of the software, and the update must be completed before the planes are allowed to fly.

American Airlines said about 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft will require the upgrade, and it expects most of the work to be completed “today or tomorrow.”

The process takes approximately two hours per aircraft, according to the airline.

“Although we expect some delays as these updates are completed, we are laser-focused on limiting cancellations — especially as customers return home from holiday travel,” American said in a statement.

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An American Airlines Airbus A320 passes near the US Capitol Dome in Washington as it prepares to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday, November 7, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Delta Air Lines said fewer than 50 A321neo aircraft in its fleet were affected, and it expects to complete all upgrades by Saturday morning.

“Because safety comes before all else, Delta will fully comply with the guidance and expects any resulting operational impact to be limited,” Delta said in a statement.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines are four of the ten largest operators of Airbus A320 aircraft in the world, according to Reuters.

United told FOX Business in an email that the recall does not affect its fleet.

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A Delta Air Lines Airbus A320 passenger plane taxis, one day before Thanksgiving, at Salt Lake City International Airport, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 21, 2012. (Reuters/George Fry/Reuters)

Other major airlines – including Germany’s Lufthansa, India’s IndiGo and UK-based EasyJet – said they would take the affected planes out of service briefly to complete repairs, Reuters reported.

The recall also prompted Colombian airline Avianca to suspend ticket sales for travel until December 8, with more than 70% of its fleet affected, according to Reuters.

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JetBlue did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bonnie Chu contributed to this report.