Air India Maintains Operations Amid Global A320 Software Mandate
Air India has confirmed that its flight schedule remains largely unaffected by the worldwide mandatory software and hardware realignment ordered for Airbus A320 family aircraft. The airline reported no cancellations across its network despite the technical requirement that has impacted thousands of aircraft globally.
The carrier emphasized that safety remains its highest priority while engineering teams work continuously to complete the necessary updates. "Our colleagues on ground are there to assist passengers," the airline stated in an official communication.
Global Directive Follows Safety Incident
The mandatory update comes after a concerning incident on October 30, 2025, when a JetBlue A320 flying from Cancun to Newark experienced an unexpected pitch downward without pilot input. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation indicated the uncontrolled descent "likely occurred during an ELAC (flight control computer) switch change." The aircraft diverted to Tampa, resulting in hospitalizations for some passengers.
This incident prompted the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Airbus to issue a global directive requiring all A320 family aircraft to undergo software and hardware realignment. The temporary grounding for upgrades is expected to take approximately 2-3 days per aircraft.
Air India's Progress and Impact Assessment
Air India has made significant progress in implementing the required changes. The airline has already completed the reset on over 40% of its impacted aircraft and expressed confidence in meeting EASA's prescribed timeline for the entire fleet.
While the airline maintains there have been no cancellations due to this task, some flights may experience minor delays or rescheduling. The longer turnaround times required for the software updates have affected operations slightly, but the carrier assures passengers that schedule integrity remains largely intact.
In India alone, more than 350 aircraft operated by IndiGo and the Air India Group require this critical update. Worldwide, approximately 6,000 aircraft are affected by the directive. Normal operations are expected to resume by Monday or Tuesday across global aviation networks.
Air India had previously acknowledged the operational impact on social media platform X, stating: "This will result in a software/hardware realignment on a part of our fleet, leading to longer turnaround time and delays to our scheduled operations. Air India regrets any inconvenience this may cause to passengers."
The airline continues to monitor the situation closely with engineering teams working round-the-clock to complete the mandatory updates while minimizing disruption to passenger travel plans.
