December 1 witnessed the Airbus AIR market shares dropping 6 per cent due to a quality-control problem in the aluminium fuselage panels on a large number of A320 jets. This resulted in the uncertain conditions currently faced by the affected fleet until the issue is resolved.
Image for referential purpose only (source: https://www.aircharterservice.com/)
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The European Airbus A320 is the most common passenger jet with 11,300 aircrafts actively in service. However, it freshly recovered from the software glitch that led to the recalling and grounding of over 6000 flights until further notice of the problem being fixed. Thus, the airlines now meet with a new challenge.
Addressing this matter, the company spokesperson stated, “Airbus confirms it has identified a supplier quality issue affecting a limited number of A320 metal panels.” A thickness variation outside the specifications of the manufacturer has been found in about 628 A320 family jets, out of which 168 are already in service.
A quality problem at the final stretch of 2025 has jeopardised the Airbus goal of the production of 820 jets by the end of the year. Only 657 jets have been produced so far till November. Managing the delivery of around 160 jets in one final month appears to be an “astronomical” aim, as remarked by the analyst Rob Stallard.
However, the spokesperson also mentioned, “The source of the issue has been identified, contained, and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements.” Since the defect is not alarming, the in-service fleet does not require immediate attention to fix the problem.
A question mark remains hanging over the current situation that whether or not Airbus can successfully deliver such a steep annual goal in the final month. It is also uncertain as to how that is going to affect its stocks in 2026, which are currently EUR 189 per share fair value estimate (USD 55 per US ADR).
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