The incident, which happened on 30 October, involved a JetBlue Airways A320 making an emergency landing in Florida, after a sudden drop in altitude. At least 15 people were reported to have been injured.
The issue affects the A320 – its best selling aircraft – but also models from the same design fleet, including the A318, A319 and the A321.
It is understood that on around 5,100 Airbus planes, the issue can be addressed using a relatively simple software update. However, the remaining aircraft which are older versions will need new hardware as well and will need to be taken out of service to be modified.
Airbus said it acknowledged this will lead to “operational disruption to passengers and customers”, and has apologised.
Wizz Air said some of its aircraft were among those that require updates and that it had scheduled the necessary maintenance, while Air India said the directive from Airbus could lead to delays.
British Airways is understood not be be heavily impacted by the issue. Easyjet said it was “expecting this to result in some disruption” and would inform passengers directly.
“Safety is our highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturers guidelines,” the airline said.
