[Source: Reuters]

Global airlines scrambled to fix a software glitch on Airbus A320 jets on Saturday as a partial recall by the European planemaker halted hundreds of flights in Asia and Europe and threatened U.S. travel over the busiest weekend of the year.

Airlines worked through the night after global regulators told them to remedy the problem before resuming flights.

Airlines that said they had completed or nearly finished all their software updates on Saturday included American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab, United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab, Air India, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), opens new tab, Hungary’s Wizz Air (WIZZ.L), opens new tab, Mexico’s Volaris (VOLARA.MX), opens new tab, Air Arabia (AIRA.DU), opens new tab, Saudi Arabia’s Flyadeal, and Taiwan’s carriers. Many reported no impact on operations.

The overnight effort by airlines appeared to help head off the worst-case scenario and capped the number of flight delays in Asia and Europe.

In the United States, which will face high demand after the Thanksgiving holiday period, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that impacted U.S. carriers “have reported great progress, and are on track to meet the deadline of this Sunday at midnight to complete the work.”

He posted on X, opens new tab that travellers “SHOULD NOT expect any major disruptions,” although one U.S. airline, JetBlue (JBLU.O), opens new tab, later said it cancelled dozens of flights that had been scheduled for Sunday.

Asia-based aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said the update was “not as chaotic as some people might think,” although “it does create some short-term headaches for operations.”

Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab CEO Guillaume Faury apologised to airlines and passengers after the surprise recall of 6,000 planes, or more than half of the global A320-family fleet, which recently overtook the Boeing 737 as the industry’s most-delivered model.

“I want to sincerely apologise to our airline customers and passengers who are impacted now,” Faury posted on LinkedIn.

Friday’s alert followed an unintended loss of altitude on an October 30 JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, which injured 10 passengers, according to France’s BEA accident agency, which is probing the incident.

The alert landed at a time of day when many European airlines and Asian airlines are winding down their schedules, leaving time for repairs.

In the United States, however, it came during the day ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel weekend.

Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.