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American Airlines confirm Airbus software updates complete

100 Airbus employees fall sick after company's Christmas party

American Airlines said Saturday that aircraft grounded by an Airbus recall have been updated with new software and can resume flights.

“As of 12 p.m. CT, no aircraft were left to be updated of the 209 impacted,” the company said.

“American expects no further operational impact related to the Emergency Airworthiness Directive and looks forward to the remaining days of the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, especially Sunday, our most-traveled day.”

A mandatory Airbus software update for 6,000 A320-series jets grounded a majority of the world’s narrow-body fleet during a peak travel weekend, stranding thousands of passengers worldwide.

The directive, one of the largest in Airbus’s 55-year history, had a rapid global impact, disrupting holiday travel from the United States to Australia.

The disruption was particularly severe in Asia, where the single-aisle A320 is the backbone of regional travel.

United Airlines reported six affected aircraft, anticipating “minor disruption to a few flights,” while Delta Air Lines stated that fewer than 50 of its Airbus A320s were impacted.

Japan’s ANA Holdings, which operates the country’s largest Airbus narrow-body fleet, canceled 95 domestic flights on Saturday, stranding approximately 13,200 passengers.

In contrast, rival Japan Airlines, which relies primarily on Boeing, was less affected.