Airbus A320 software recall: NZ passengers speak of ‘chaos’, hours-long queues as issue paralyses airports

Travellers across New Zealand faced queues, cancelled flights and missed family events. Photo / Calvin Samuel / RNZ

By RNZ

Travellers across New Zealand faced six-hour queues, cancelled flights, missed family events and last-minute scrambles for alternatives as the global grounding of Airbus A320 aircraft rippled through airline schedules today.

While the software recall affects airlines worldwide, in New Zealand’s airport terminals, passengers described a morning of confusion, contradictory information and mounting frustration.

Earlier, Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said “as a precaution”, all A320neo aircraft in the airline’s fleet would receive a software update before operating their next passenger service.

However, he later revised the airline’s position to say that while 12 flights had already been cancelled, A320 flights would resume until just before 1pm on Sunday.

Birthday plan ‘out the window’

One Wellington-bound passenger said their day began with a text message at 9.30am warning of Jetstar delays, but this didn’t prepare them for the scene inside Auckland Airport.

“I walked into a line that we could have been waiting another couple of hours for, so yeah, it wasn’t great,” they said.

By the time they reached the counter, every remaining Jetstar flight to Wellington was fully booked.

“I had a birthday plan for my daughter today and now that’s out the window,” they said. “I’m going to try to get a flight on [Air] New Zealand today … otherwise, I’ll be waiting until tomorrow morning.”

They said Jetstar had not offered compensation so far.

“Basically, I’ll pay money for a flight that I’m not even going to take at the moment.”

A Wellington-bound passenger said they would likely miss their daughter's birthday, due to the delay. Photo / Calvin Samuel / RNZ

Six hours in line

For Christchurch-bound traveller Miguel, the delays were even longer.

His 8.25am flight was initially pushed back by 30 minutes, then an hour, before being cancelled altogether.

“I’m not so happy, definitely,” he told RNZ, adding he has been queuing for “maybe six hours”.

Jetstar eventually booked him on a mid-afternoon flight, leaving him waiting in the terminal for most of the day.

Miguel's flight was initially pushed back by 30 minutes, then an hour, before being cancelled. Photo / Calvin Samuel / RNZ

‘Five different staff told me five different things’

Another passenger, April, said the experience was overwhelming, especially as she was travelling solo and visiting Auckland for the first time.

Her 11.50am Jetstar flight was rebooked, cancelled, then rebooked, before she received conflicting instructions about whether she could board.

“I had five different staff tell me five different things,” she said.

“My boarding pass was cancelled and I didn’t know if I could still get on. I was really lost.”

Jetstar eventually reissued her flight for a later departure – but she abandoned it altogether.

“I ended up rebooking with Air New Zealand instead, because I was just so confused. I’ll just get a refund from Jetstar.”

She said staff were kind, but the queues were impossible for her to manage.

“I’ve got chronic pain, I can’t stand in that queue. Someone said they’d been waiting two and a half hours, another said six hours.

“I couldn’t do that at all.”

April said her flight was rebooked, cancelled, then rebooked. Photo / Calvin Samuel / RNZ

‘Overseas travellers caught in chaos’

A group of friends from Blenheim, returning from a long, multi-stop trip through Asia, said the Auckland cancellation was just the latest setback.

“We’ve had about eight flights so far, and every single flight has either been cancelled or delayed,” one said.

Their flight from Melbourne to Auckland arrived late and the onward domestic flight was cancelled shortly before boarding.

“We were at the back of the line – too many people. We missed our chance to get a flight … now we’ve been pushed back to tomorrow morning.”

After three changes to their onward connections, they abandoned their plan to fly home to Blenheim.

“Instead of doing that, we’re just flying to Christchurch and driving.”

A group of friends from Blenheim said the Auckland cancellation was just the latest setback. Photo / Calvin Samuel / RNZ

‘Why is this happening?’

The widespread disruption stems from an urgent software recall affecting a large portion of the global Airbus A320 fleet.

Airbus said intense solar radiation may, in rare cases, corrupt data inside a flight-control computer known as the ELAC – the system that translates pilot inputs into elevator and aileron movements.

The widespread disruption stems from an urgent software recall affecting a large portion of the global Airbus A320 fleet. Photo / Calvin Samuel / RNZ

The fault was linked to an October 30 JetBlue incident, where a sudden uncommanded loss of altitude injured passengers.

Regulators have ordered airlines to update or revert the software before operating the affected aircraft again.

Some updates take about two hours, but aircraft requiring hardware changes may be subject to longer delays.

Air NZ, Jetstar responses

Air New Zealand has said all A320neo aircraft will receive the software patch before their next flight, but it is allowing other A320 flights to continue until 1pm tomorrow, with cancellations expected across the fleet.

Jetstar passengers told RNZ they received limited information beyond repeated delay notifications.

Despite the chaos, some passengers said staff were doing the best they could.

“They’ve been really helpful,” one stranded traveller said. “It’s out of their hands – it’s a global crisis.”

More disruption likely

With thousands of A320s affected worldwide, delays and cancellations are expected to continue throughout the weekend.

“I’m just going to sit here and see how long I last,” April said. “That’s pretty much all anyone can do today.”

– RNZ