Thousands of Jetstar passengers across Australia have been affected by a global issue that has seen Airbus A320 planes around the world grounded.
Passengers flying with Jetstar have been told to expect major delays, and a number of flights were cancelled after the issue with A320 planes was identified.
Jetstar has 86 of the A320 aircraft in its fleet of which 34 are affected by the software issue, while Qantas also uses the planes but said its services were not affected.
The flight disruptions in Australia were affecting all major domestic airports on Saturday morning, with multiple flight cancellations at all airports handling Jetstar flights.
The Jetstar flight cancellations led to delays for many passengers in Melbourne. (ABC News: Natasha MacFarlane)
Jetstar’s chief pilot and head of flying operations, Tyrone Simes, said the disruptions were affecting thousands of passengers across Australia and could continue into Sunday.
“We’ve got about 90 flights affected, and that’s just Jetstar, but it’s important to note it is a worldwide issue, so there are many thousands of customers right across the world with different airlines affected,” he said.
The latest on Jetstar disruptions due to the global Airbus A320 recall.
12h agoSat 29 Nov 2025 at 1:04am
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12h agoSat 29 Nov 2025 at 1:02am
East coast flights the most impacted
Mr Simes said most of Jetstar’s impacted aircraft are on Australia’s east coast.
“Geographically we’re in a pretty good position,” he said, referring to the engineering support near the impacted planes.
12h agoSat 29 Nov 2025 at 1:00am
Most repairs to be fixed today, Jetstar chief says
Mr Simes says it’s “difficult” to say how long the Jetstar disruptions would last but said most repairs could be completed today.
“We’re hoping to get it all done today and expecting the potential for some minor disruption tomorrow,” he said.
“We’re trying to rectify the situation as quickly as we possibly can as all airlines are across the globe.”
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The issue requires engineers to reverse a software upgrade that was carried out on Airbus A320 aircraft. This process could take up to three hours for each plane.
On Saturday evening Jetstar said it had fixed all but six affected aircraft.
“Our teams are progressively resolving the Airbus A320/1 fleet software issue which is affecting operators globally,” it said.
“We’re expecting the remaining to be ready overnight, allowing flights to resume as planned on Sunday, November 30.”
But the airline warned there could be “flow-on delays or cancellations on Sunday as the network fully recovers”.
“We will contact customers by SMS and email if there are any further disruptions,” it said.
“Safety is our number one priority, and we sincerely thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we worked through this issue.”
Extra chaos at Melbourne Airport after Friday fire
In Melbourne, the flight chaos was compounded by a backlog of passengers who had flights cancelled last night due to a fire at the Qantas domestic terminal at Melbourne Airport.
Melbourne Airport chief of aviation Jim Parashos said many people’s travel plans had been disrupted.
“Being a weekend, with schoolies, I’ve spoken to a lot of travellers going up to Byron [Bay] and the Gold Coast,” he said.
“We appreciate their frustration but they’re being very understanding.
“From our perspective and Jetstar’s, it’s been all hands on deck this morning to try and assist where we can.”
School-leavers Alexandra, Ruby, Ella and Alice were all smiles despite having their initial flight to Byron Bay cancelled on Saturday morning. (ABC News: Natasha MacFarlane)
Melbourne friends Alexandra, Ruby, Ella and Alice were travelling to Byron Bay today for schoolies’ week but had to put their plans on hold.
After their initial early flight was cancelled, they secured seats on a later flight.
Global recall of Airbus A320s throws airlines into chaos
“We worked really hard during year 12, so we’re really looking forward to a well-deserved break with friends, so I’m glad we’ll still be able to get there tonight,” Ruby said.
“We’re getting there one way or another.”
Traveller Lucy Bohan arrived at Melbourne Airport on Saturday morning for her Jetstar flight out of Melbourne only to find it had been cancelled.
“We were meant to go to Sydney, but a lovely announcement told us otherwise, so we’re just trying to game plan how we’re going to get there,” she said.
“We’re willing to put in the work because we have no other plans. It’s raining in Melbourne and it’s sunny in Sydney.”
Augustin Matteoda, waiting at Melbourne Airport after his flight to the Gold Coast was cancelled. (ABC News)
Augustin Matteoda arrived in Melbourne on a 6am flight from Chile but was told his connecting flight to the Gold Coast was cancelled, delaying the start of his three-month holiday in Australia.
“It’s so bad because I’m very confused. I think this is ridiculous. It’s so bad,” he said.
“I’m trying to change my flight, but the line is very long.”
In Hobart, several flights were cancelled as engineers began carrying out software updates on grounded aircraft.
Jetstar passengers, some emotional about the flight cancellations, gathered at a cafe near the arrivals area and sat on the floor as they awaited re-booked flights.
Brisbane-bound traveller Josh waited patiently at Hobart Airport after his flight was cancelled. (ABC News)
Dee and her partner found out their flight to Sydney was cancelled on arrival at Hobart Airport.
“We had read something about the [Airbus A320s] all around the world, so we sort of expected it,” she said.
“They’ve tried to get us on another flight, a Qantas flight, in three hours, so fingers crossed we can get on that.
“I just want to get home.”
Another traveller, Josh, was due to meet friends in Brisbane early this afternoon, but multiple cancellations have postponed the start of his holiday.
He said the ordeal was “frustrating”, but he eventually secured a seat on a flight due to leave Saturday afternoon.
“Some people haven’t got flights today, and they’ve had to stay in Hobart. I’ve managed to get out of here so I’m pretty happy with that,” he said.
Jetstar passengers said the airline had helped by providing vouchers for meals, transport and overnight accommodation.
Some regional airports, such as Newcastle and Ballina-Byron, also experienced flight delays and cancellations due to the software issue.
Brisbane resident Brody Austin said he would miss a festival today in Sydney after two cancelled Jetstar flights in two days.
Brody Austin arrived at Brisbane Airport this morning to find that his flight to Sydney had been cancelled for a second time. (ABC News)
“We were meant to fly last night, [the flight] got cancelled last night …[it was] re-booked to this morning, [and] got cancelled again this morning,” Mr Austin said.
“It sucks, but what can you do?”
Another disappointed festival goer, Tony Nguyen, said communications with the airline about the cancellation had been confusing.
“There wasn’t actually much notification. A lot of us had to call the Jetstar [phone] line to find out what was going on,” he said.
Brisbane resident Tony Nguyen will miss a festival in Sydney today after his flight was cancelled.
(ABC News)
“Even when we got here we were moved to different parts of the airport, so there’s not really a proactive approach from Jetstar … we have to go to the service desk and fix our own problems.”
