Pakistan International Airlines confirmed its A320 fleet is unaffected by Airbus’ emergency recall on 6,000 jets, issued after a software glitch prompted temporary groundings across Asia, Europe, and the United States over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The recall, one of Airbus’ largest in its 55-year history, followed a JetBlue flight from Cancun to Newark on October 30 that lost altitude and injured passengers. Most affected aircraft require only a software reset, though a few may need hardware adjustments.
Globally, airlines worked overnight to implement fixes. Flight tracker data showed moderate delays at most airports. Analysts said disruptions were limited, but short-term operational challenges persisted.
In the US, American Airlines reported 209 of 480 A320s need the fix. Delta, JetBlue, and United are also updating fleets. In India, 338 Airbus aircraft are affected; IndiGo completed resets on 160 of 200 planes and Air India on 42 of 113. South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong carriers are completing similar updates, with most expected by Sunday.
Japan’s ANA Holdings canceled 95 flights, affecting 13,500 passengers, while Japan Airlines’ mostly Boeing fleet was largely unaffected. European carriers Lufthansa and easyJet, Middle East carrier Air Arabia, and Colombia’s Avianca, which saw over 70 percent of its fleet affected, are also performing updates.
PIA said its Engineering and Maintenance teams are monitoring aircraft safety closely, ensuring operations continue without disruption despite past criticism over technical malfunctions.
