Shares of European commercial aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE (EADSY) are down 10% after the company disclosed a safety issue with its widely used A320 aircraft.
Over the weekend, Airbus said that the majority of its 6,000 A320 aircraft are impacted by a software glitch that requires an immediate update.
News of the needed software update came during the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
American Airlines, the biggest U.S. carrier, said that more than 300 of its commercial aircraft required the software update and for travelers to expect delays as a result.
In a written statement, Airbus apologized for delays caused to passengers and airlines impacted by the software issue.
The directive, which is among the largest in the 55-year history of Airbus, impacted commercial airplanes from America to Australia.
The disruption, linked to solar flares, hit especially hard in Asia, where the A320 aircraft dominates short-haul routes.
In addition to the software glitch, Airbus also said that it has detected an issue with fuselage panels on some A320 aircraft, delaying some current and future deliveries.
The problems have sent Paris-listed shares of Airbus down 10% on Dec. 1, their biggest one-day drop since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020.
Prior to today (Dec. 1), EADSY stock had been up 41% this year and trading at $57.75 U.S. per share.
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