Colombia’s flagship carrier, Avianca, announced Friday it has grounded more than 70% of its Airbus A320 fleet after the European manufacturer issued an urgent global bulletin ordering operators to carry out immediate software updates to prevent potential flight-control failures.
The disruption, one of the most severe to hit the airline in years, comes as Airbus launched one of the largest fleet-wide recalls in its history, affecting some 6,000 A320 commercial aircraft worldwide — more than half of the global fleet. The A320 is the world’s most widely used single-aisle airliner and the backbone of Avianca’s operations across Latin America and to U.S and Canadian hubs.
There are around 11,300 A320 jets in operation in total.
In a statement, Avianca said Airbus notified operators on November 28 that a significant portion of A320 require a mandatory software modification. The update, which Airbus described as reverting to an earlier software version, must be applied before affected aircraft can resume flights, except for ferry operations to maintenance bases.
“As soon as the aircraft reach their maintenance bases, they must remain on the ground until the updates are completed,” Avianca said. “This order affects more than 70% of Avianca’s fleet.”
The airline warned that the grounding will trigger significant operational disruptions over the next 10 days as engineers work to install the update across its aircraft. To limit further complications and manage passenger flow, Avianca has temporarily closed ticket sales for travel dates through December 8 — an extraordinary measure taken to “reorganize its capacity and re-accommodate passengers on available flights.”
Customers with upcoming reservations will receive direct notifications from the airline detailing their travel options.
The update requirement has already led to cascading delays and cancellations across several regions. Reuters reported that, at the time Airbus issued its notice to more than 350 operators, roughly 3,000 A320 aircraft were airborne. Airlines in the United States, Europe, South America, India and New Zealand said the repairs could trigger operational disruption during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
American Airlines, the world’s largest operator of the A320 family, said about 340 of its 480 aircraft require the fix. The carrier expects the majority of updates to be completed by Saturday, estimating about two hours of work per jet. Delta Airlines said updates to a small portion of its Airbus A320 planes will likely be completed by Saturday morning, a spokesperson said.
Avianca, however, expects the impact to last longer given the scale of its grounded fleet in Latin America and the limited availability of maintenance slots at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport.
The airline said its priority is passenger and crew safety and that it is working “as quickly as possible” to complete the mandatory modifications and restore normal operations.
To mitigate the fallout, Avianca is offering several options to affected passengers:
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Rebooking on the nearest available Avianca flight or on partner airlines with which it has commercial agreements.
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Flexible changes, allowing travelers to reschedule without penalty fees or fare differences, subject to availability, for up to 180 days after the original travel date.
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Refunds for unused flight segments through the airline’s website, call center, sales offices or travel agencies.
Avianca urged customers not to go to the airport unless their flight has been confirmed and to closely monitor email notifications associated with their reservation, as well as updates on its official channels.
Despite the scale of the disruption, the airline said the swift grounding demonstrates its commitment to safety while complying with Airbus’ unprecedented directive.
“The priority of Avianca is to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew,” the company said, adding that it aims to complete the required modifications as soon as possible to “minimize service disruptions.”
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