An Airbus software glitch is causing chaos around the globe, with thousands of weekend flights cancelled.
Airbus said it was ordering immediate updates to 6,000 of its widely used A320 range of jets - affecting more than half the global fleet.
The news came during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States and is causing disruption at airports around the world.
Airbus ordered airlines to undertake software modifications on its A320s after it discovered the risk of errors in the plane's flight control systems.
It was among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history. The plane is flown by more than 350 airlines and some 11,300 A320s are in operation.
The fix involves reverting to earlier software and is relatively simple, but reportedly must be carried out before the planes can fly again, a bulletin issued to airlines says.
The world's largest A320 operator, American Airlines, said some 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft would need the fix. It said it mostly expected these to be completed by Saturday with about two hours required for each plane.
Other airlines affected include Lufthansa, United and easyJet.
In Australia, thousands of travellers’ flight plans were thrown into chaos.
Budget airline Jetstar has cancelled or delayed 90 flights while rolling out urgent software updates to 34 of its planes.
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