'Airbus A320 Recall': 42 Aircraft Affected in Korea... No Aviation Crisis Expected (Comprehensive)

It has been confirmed that 80 Airbus A320 family passenger aircraft, which were subject to a large-scale recall due to a software error, are currently in operation in South Korea. However, the likelihood of an aviation crisis occurring in the country as a result of this incident is considered minimal.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the aviation industry on November 29, six domestic airlines are operating A320 family aircraft: Korean Air (18), Asiana Airlines (24), Air Busan (21), Air Seoul (6), Aero K (9), and Parata Airlines (2).

All of these aircraft are medium-sized models, including the A320-200, A321-200, and A321-200neo. Of these, 42 aircraft are subject to the current recall. By airline, Korean Air has 10, Asiana Airlines 17, Air Busan 11, Aero K 3, and Air Seoul 1. Parata Airlines does not have any aircraft subject to the recall.

It has been reported that all 42 recalled aircraft can be updated in the cockpit through a software update, with the necessary measures completed within one hour. Among the aircraft operated by domestic airlines, there are no older models that require hardware replacement, which would take three to four hours.

On the previous day, Airbus issued a large-scale recall order for the A320 family, citing a software issue that could cause a rapid descent and seriously compromise flight safety. This was prompted by the discovery of a software problem that could cause a sudden drop in altitude during an investigation into an emergency landing by a JetBlue A320 en route from Cancun, Mexico, to the United States on October 30.

Immediately after Airbus announced the A320 recall, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued an emergency directive to domestic airlines to implement the necessary measures, and Airbus also notified airlines to carry out the software update.

In South Korea, due to the swift actions of the government and airlines, no disruptions to flight operations are expected as a result of this recall. According to the Ministry and the aviation industry, as of noon on the same day, 28 out of the 42 affected aircraft (67%) had completed the update. Korean Air had updated 5 out of 10, and Asiana Airlines 8 out of 17. Air Busan, Air Seoul, and Aero K reported that they had completed the update for all affected aircraft by the morning.

Since the update takes less than one hour per aircraft, the Ministry expects the remaining updates to be completed before the first scheduled departures on November 30.

Worldwide, approximately 11,300 A320 family aircraft are in operation. On November 28 (local time), Air France-KLM Group canceled 35 scheduled flights, and flight cancellations and delays are occurring in various parts of the world.