Seoul: More than 40 Airbus A320-series aircraft operating in South Korea are subject to a global software-related recall, but the measure is unlikely to cause major flight delays or cancellations domestically, the transport ministry said Saturday. Airbus on Friday issued a large-scale recall for its A320 family of jets after identifying a software flaw capable of causing serious flight-safety issues, including unintended rapid descent.

According to Yonhap News Agency, five Korean carriers-Korean Air Co., Asiana Airlines Inc., Air Busan Co., Air Seoul Inc., and Aero K Airlines Co.-operate a total of 80 A320-family jets. Of those, 42 units were subject to the recall measure, as reported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

In response to the issue, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency directive to national aviation authorities. The directive requires affected aircraft to undergo immediate software replacement or modification before continuing operations. This measure follows an investigation into a sudden-descent incident involving a JetBlue Airways Corp. A320 en route from Mexico to the United States on Oct. 30, which revealed that intense solar radiation had interfered with the aircraft's elevator aileron computer (ELAC) flight-control program.

Based on these findings, EASA has mandated a global software update for all A320 and A321 ELAC systems by 8:59 a.m. on Nov. 30. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted that the update takes less than an hour per aircraft and reported that nearly 70 percent of the affected jets had already been updated as of 12 p.m. Saturday. All updates are expected to be completed before 9 a.m. Sunday.

"The government is monitoring each airline's compliance in real time under the principle of 'safety first' and will take immediate action in the event of significant delays or operational disruptions," a ministry official stated.