Brits to face days of flight chaos as Airbus warns thousands of planes have crucial software bug

Around 6,000 planes are affected by the glitch, around half of the aviation giant's European fleet.

It is understood that the aircraft need a software update before they can reenter operation.

The UK's aviation regulator has warned that delays and cancellations are likely to follow - with EasyJet among those confirming their services are being disrupted.

The fault was discovered when a JetBlue flight from Mexico to the US had a sudden drop in altitude and was forced to make an emergency landing which saw 15 people injured.

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WizzAir and EasyJet are among the major UK airlines affected by the issues.

The fault is understood to be caused by solar radiation corrupting data in a computer which helps control the aircraft.

Tim Johnson from the UK's Civil Aviation Authority said that there may be disruptions to flights "in some circumstances".

"From a UK perspective, not all airlines fly Airbus A320 or the affected ones, so for some airlines there will be no impact at all," he says.

"For some, there may be some impact," he continued, adding that the CAA has been in touch with airlines and they're looking to make sure the maintenance is undertaken over the coming days.

He then advised customers is to "check airline websites and apps for the latest info about what is happening".

Wizz Air has warned passengers flying with the airline they may face disruption over the weekend as a result of the update.

"Wizz Air confirms that some of its aircraft are among the more than 6,500 Airbus A320 family aircraft worldwide that require a software update, as recently identified by the aircraft manufacturer," the airline said in a statement on Friday.

"Wizz Air has already immediately scheduled the necessary maintenance to ensure full compliance with the identified mitigation.

"As a result, some flights over the weekend may be affected.

"Passengers who booked directly with Wizz Air via the website or mobile app will be notified of any schedule changes.

"The safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft is always our number one and overriding priority.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused by circumstances outside of our direct control."

Gatwick Airport also warned passengers may face some disruption over the coming days.

A London Gatwick spokesperson said: "We are aware of a directive requiring some airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft to update software on their fleet over coming days, which may result in some disruption.

"This is only impacting a small number of airlines at London Gatwick.

"Passengers should contact their airline for more information."

Passengers flying with British Airways should not face any significant disruption as only three of their aircraft require the update, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed.

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said it is not expecting any disruption to its flight schedule at this stage.

Irish airline Aer Lingus also said it is not expecting major operational disruption.

It said in a statement: "Following an alert raised by Airbus, a directive has been issued to airlines advising them of a requirement to update instances of a particular version of software installed on some of the global Airbus A320 family of aircraft.

"In Aer Lingus' case a limited number of aircraft are impacted, and the airline is taking immediate steps to complete the required software installation.

"As a result, Aer Lingus expects that there will be no significant operational disruption."

Jet2.com said it was "installing software updates on a very small number of aircraft" in its fleet, adding: "We can confirm there will be no impact to our flying programme as a result."

Giancarlo Buono, director of Aviation Safety at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: "We have been made aware of an issue that may affect some of the A320 family of aircraft and the precautionary action that EASA has taken.

"We appreciate the disruption this may cause to some people flying over the coming days.

"Passengers should check with their airline whether their flights are affected.

"Airlines have a duty of care to look after passengers when a flight is delayed."