Travel news today: Airbus A320 recall nearly wrapped as JetBlue resumes normal ops; new fuselage checks emerge—what it means for American, ANA, Avianca, Delta, and your flight

The global Airbus A320 recall that triggered a weekend wave of schedule changes is largely resolved today (Tuesday, December 2, 2025). Most affected jets have already received the mandated flight-control software modification after an October incident exposed a rare vulnerability to intense solar radiation. With fixes installed across the vast majority of the fleet, airlines are restoring schedules—though a fresh, separate fuselage panel quality review could slow some deliveries and add spot inspections without grounding the in-service fleet.

Status at a glance: A320 recall and grounding

• Scope: Roughly 6,000 A320-family aircraft (A318/A319/A320/A321) required an urgent software action.

• Grounding impact: Many aircraft were briefly grounded during maintenance for the two-hour retrofit or temporary software reversion; most have since returned to service.

• Where things stand today: Fewer than ~100 jets worldwide are still awaiting the update, with rolling normalisation across networks.

JetBlue, American, ANA, Avianca, Delta — what travelers should expect

JetBlue (Jet Blue / jetblue):

• Operations resumed to normal levels after completing updates on A320/A321 fleets. Expect minor residual irregular operations as aircraft and crews re-position.

American (American Airlines / AA):

• As the largest A320-family operator, American cycled a large portion of the fleet through the fix over the weekend.

• American Airlines grounded flights intermittently during slots assigned for updates; schedules today are stabilizing, with typical day-of adjustments still possible while aircraft return to planned rotations.

ANA (All Nippon Airways):

• Cancellations over the weekend as several A320-family jets were held for modification. Domestic Japan operations are recovering, but check flight status if connecting via Tokyo or Osaka in the next 24–48 hours.

Avianca:

• With more than 70% of its fleet in the A320 family, Avianca paused some sales and protected existing customers while pushing updates. Sales for travel from December 9 are open; near-term flying is operating with constraints as aircraft cycle back.

Delta Air Lines:

• Smaller A320-family exposure compared with some peers. Limited disruption relative to carriers with heavier A320 fleets; day-to-day tweaks remain possible.

The technical piece: why the A320 software mattered

• Trigger: A rare scenario where solar radiation could corrupt data feeding flight-control computers, potentially causing uncommanded inputs.

• Remedy: A software change/reversion and checks to the affected control computers.

• Timeline: Airlines prioritized updates as aircraft reached maintenance bases, resulting in short, staggered groundings rather than a uniform systemwide stop.

New wrinkle: A320 fuselage panel inspections (separate from the recall)

• What’s new: Airbus flagged manufacturing inconsistencies in the thickness of several forward fuselage panels on a subset of A320-family jets.

• Operational impact:

  • In-service aircraft: A targeted inspection program; no blanket grounding announced.

  • Production/deliveries: Assembly-line rework and extra checks could delay some December deliveries, indirectly influencing winter capacity plans.

• Safety note: The issue is being treated as a quality-control matter with a low-probability risk profile when combined with prior repairs; operators are conducting checks out of an abundance of caution.

If you’re flying today or this week

• Check your app 24 hours and again 3–4 hours before departure; many airlines push gate/aircraft swaps as updated jets re-enter service.

• Build buffer time on A320-heavy routes (domestic trunk lines, trans-con, and short-haul international) where rotations are still normalizing.

• Connections: Prefer ≥90 minutes for domestic and ≥2.5 hours for international until the tail end of the week.

• Rebooking windows: If you were disrupted over the weekend, look for waivers that may still allow changes to the same origin/destination without fare differences.

• Seat maps ≠ guarantee: Last-minute aircraft substitutions are common while fleets cycle through inspections.

Key takeaways on the A320 recall and grounding

• The software recall phase is nearing completion, with broad service restoration across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

• JetBlue is back to regular operations; American and ANA have largely normalized after weekend cancellations; Avianca remains tightly managed through early December.

• A separate fuselage quality check may delay some new-jet deliveries but is not grounding the in-service fleet at scale.

• For most passengers, travel news today is good: expect mostly standard operations with pockets of delay as airlines finish the last batch of modifications and inspections.

FAQ: your quick search terms answered

• “Airbus A320 aircraft recall / A320 grounding” — A global software-safety action; most jets are already modified and flying.

• “American Airlines grounded flights” — Short, targeted groundings for updates; schedules today are largely restored.

• “Avianca” — Operations ongoing with temporary sales limits through Dec 8 during the catch-up; Dec 9+ sales open.

• “ANA” — Weekend cancellations occurred; recovery underway with standard day-of adjustments possible.

• “Delta Airlines” — Minimal disruption relative to peers due to smaller A320 exposure.

• “Jet Blue / jetblue” — Normal ops resumed post-modification.

• “Airbus A320 American Airlines” — American’s large A320 fleet completed updates in waves; check flight status for specific legs.

Bottom line: the A320 recall is shifting from emergency fix to mop-up mode. Keep an eye on your airline’s app, but expect a return to routine flying as the last aircraft clear the maintenance queue.