Airlines Work to Fix Plane Software After Global Airbus Disruption. What to Know.

(SERGIO yate/AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• Airbus recalled approximately 6,000 aircraft globally due to concerns that intense solar radiation could corrupt flight control data.
• The recall followed an emergency landing of a JetBlue A320 on Oct. 30 which experienced a flight control issue.
• The weekend after Thanksgiving is a massively popular travel period in the U.S.

Airlines rushed to update their aircrafts’ software after about 6,000 Airbus planes around the world were recalled Friday evening.

Airbus announced Friday that it was recalling a significant number of aircraft after analysis of a “recent event” involving an A320 aircraft revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

On Oct. 30, a A320 plane owned by JetBlue on a flight from Cancun to Newark made an emergency landing in Tampa after the plane had a drop in altitude. The Federal Aviation Administration said last month that the crew onboard that flight “experienced a flight control issue.”

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said on Friday that it had issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive for the Airbus A320 family to address a susceptibility introduced by a software update in one of the A320’s onboard computers.

“The fix required on some #A320 aircraft has been causing significant logistical challenges and delays since yesterday,” Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in a LinkedIn post on Saturday. “I want to sincerely apologise to our airline customers and passengers who are impacted now.”

Airlines have worked quickly to bring their flights up to par during a historically busy holiday travel weekend.

American Airlines told Barron’s that as of 10 a.m. Eastern, just one aircraft needed to be updated of the 209 total American Airlines planes that were impacted. American Airlines added that it “expects no further operational impact.”

Delta Air Lines said in a statement that “as safety comes before everything else, Delta has fully complied with the directive. Teams completed the required work with no effect on operations.”

United Airlines Holdings said in a statement that there would be no impact on operations on Saturday.

The weekend after Thanksgiving is a massively popular travel period in the U.S. as people head back home after visiting family for the holiday. American Airlines said that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the company’s “most-traveled day.”

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com