32 hours to 'rescue' the Airbus A320 fleet

Airbus - Ảnh 1. — Airlines are trying to update software to avoid disruptions such as flight delays and cancellations during the Airbus incident - Photo: CONG TRUNG

At 11:00 p.m. on November 28 (Vietnam time), Airbus issued an urgent warning and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) immediately requested all A319, A320, and A321 aircraft to update or replace the ELAC control software (elevation and direction control) before 6:59 a.m. on November 30.

This software can be affected by solar radiation, causing the plane to "nose dive" - an error that once forced an A320 in the US to make an emergency landing.

"The historic race"

That same night, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam held an urgent meeting with airlines. At 5:30 a.m. on November 29, it was determined that 81/169 aircraft needed to update their software.

Talking to Tuoi Tre , airline leaders and aircraft engineers all called this a "historic race", from the time of announcement to completion only 32 hours. A chase for time began.

On the night of November 28, Vietjet General Director Dinh Viet Phuong received a call from Airbus CEO informing him that urgent technical instructions would be issued that night. EASA then announced a deadline: from 6:59 a.m. on November 30, which is nearly 32 hours away, aircraft that have not updated the software will not be allowed to take off.

Nearly 6,000 planes worldwide were affected, including 69 Vietjet planes and 18 Vietnam Airlines planes in Vietnam.

Airbus' urgent warning estimates that each plane needs 2-3 hours to update the software. In Vietnam, there are only a few sets of specialized equipment, while dozens of planes are operating in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, China...

All scenarios for operating schedules and mobilizing wide-body aircraft to "carry" the main route are being put forward. If not completed in time, tens of thousands of passengers could be affected and the international flight network could be in chaos.

Vietjet immediately activated the Emergency Committee, mobilizing the AMOS system - big data & AI technology - to check the fleet in real time. At all bases, the entire team quickly coordinated to race against time to ensure operational operations.

From "3 hours down to 45 minutes"

On the night of November 28, Da Nang had 5 planes that needed to be handled immediately, and the next morning there were 4 more.

According to Airbus's instructions, each plane needs 2-3 hours to update the software, but in Da Nang, Vietjet engineer Nguyen Van Trung with more than 15 years of experience completed the entire process in a record time of only 45 minutes.

According to engineer Trung, "updating the software" of an aircraft is a complex process, not at all like pressing the update button on a phone or laptop. It is a series of operations that require absolute precision. For example, determining the configuration of the aircraft, because each one has its own configuration.

The engineering teams had to simultaneously check the system, standardize the software, run tests and compare parameters. One person operated, one person controlled and compared documents. "No steps were skipped, but I knew exactly what to do and where to do it quickly" - Mr. Trung shared.

Years of experience and having worked with this type of software helps him find the optimal way, shortening the time for technical operations and data searching, while still fully complying with mandatory safety steps.

The first plane VN-A644 successfully updated in just 45 minutes, the moment that Vietjet Emergency Management Committee called "the moment of resurrection".

The 45-minute process was immediately shared with the technical team on "duty" at Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and other international airports. The plan then reversed the entire "battle".

In parallel with the software update, Vietjet also prepared a "hardware backup" plan by removing ELACs from aircraft currently on the airport for replacement. Airlines Vietjet Thailand, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways also supported equipment to speed up processing.

On November 29, the affected aircraft were scheduled to reload software between flights at three main bases: Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, and Da Nang.

Airbus - Ảnh 2. — In 32 breathless hours of "rescuing" the Airbus A320 fleet by Vietjet's engineering team - Photo: N.QUANG

Update on the plane being painted in Indonesia

Meanwhile, at Vietnam Airlines, although its fleet was less affected than Vietjet's, at midnight on November 28, it immediately activated the technical process and simultaneously deployed software updates at three facilities in Noi Bai, Da Nang and Tan Son Nhat.

Vaeco's technical team, with support from the manufacturer and coordination between the technical and flight operations departments, carried out the update quickly and overnight.

By 1 a.m. on November 30, all 19 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft of Vietnam Airlines, including one being painted in Indonesia, had completed the software update. Vietnam Airlines' operations returned to normal on November 30.

"Proactively implementing this early helps minimize the impact on flight schedules and maintain operations. Although some flights are delayed, it is not significant," said a representative of Vietnam Airlines.

For Vietjet, the key to success is thanks to the AMOS and AI technology system that helps quickly review configurations in real time and immediately.

The readiness of standardized software libraries, readiness for software updates, digital procedures on iPads... has contributed to shortening administrative procedures, speeding up technical processes while still complying with safety standards.

In just over 32 hours, the entire fleet was handled, not leaving any A320/A321 "grounded" due to software errors.

"When Da Nang reported that the update was completed in 45 minutes, the entire emergency operations room exploded. From then on, we dared to recalculate the entire 69-plane problem," said Mr. To Viet Thang, Vietjet's permanent deputy general director.

By 3 a.m. on November 30, the company completed this work, nearly four hours ahead of the deadline.

For the Vietnamese engineering team, this is not just about software processing but also a demonstration of technical capacity, data and coordination in the extremely high-pressure environment of the aviation industry.

According to Mr. Thang, in the history of Vietnamese aviation technology, the last 32 hours of November 2025 will likely be remembered for a nationwide technology-engineering and coordinated campaign that shortened processing time from 3 hours to just 45 minutes for each aircraft in urgent situations.

How are international airlines affected?

Many international airlines are also racing to update software for their Airbus A320 fleets and have experienced disruptions due to sudden operational shutdowns.

According to Asahi Shimbun, Japanese airline ANA had to ground 34 aircraft, canceling 95 flights, affecting 13,500 passengers; Nippon Airways canceled 65 flights; Japan Airlines was unaffected as it primarily uses Boeing aircraft.

In India, IndiGo had 200 aircraft and Air India had 113 aircraft subject to rework, most of which were on schedule. However, shortly afterward, IndiGo canceled approximately 1,000 more flights due to insufficient preparation for the new regulations on pilot flight times and rest periods.

Despite the widespread impact, many airlines said that Airbus’s evening warnings, when A320s are less active, allowed them to update overnight, minimizing disruption. Some airlines also reported that it took less than an hour to update a single aircraft.

Unexpected incident, airline responds quickly

Mr. Uong Viet Dung - Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam - assessed that although the number of aircraft that had to update the software this time was very large, the airline had proactively taken action right from when Airbus issued an urgent warning and EASA officially issued the order.

Domestic airlines have made thorough technical and personnel preparations, so they can complete the Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) before the order takes effect.

Based on reviewing all resources from human resources, equipment, tools to software, airlines have quickly built an optimal plan, balancing the flight schedule and flight suspension plan to both ensure normal operations and speed up the update progress according to the requirements of manufacturers and international management agencies.

JUSTICE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/32-gio-giai-cuu-doi-bay-airbus-a320-20251208232401689.htm