The recall of 6000 planes covers more than half of Airbus's global A320 family fleet, the backbone of Asian short-haul aviation, particularly in China and India, where economic growth has brought millions of new travellers into the skies.
Regulators around the world followed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in directing their carriers to remedy the A320 software problem before resuming flights.
The Airbus recall, issued to 350 operators around the world, appears to be one of the biggest in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered model.
The US Federal Aviation Administration told carriers to replace or modify software that controls the elevators and ailerons on A319, A320 and A321 planes.
India's aviation regulator said 338 Airbus aircraft in the country were affected by the glitch but said the software reset would be completed by Sunday.
The country's largest airline, IndiGo, had completed the software reset on 143 out of 200 aircraft, the regulator said.
Air India, which has 113 affected aircraft, has completed the reset on 42 of them.
Both airlines warned of delays on Saturday.
Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration instructed airlines to conduct inspections and maintenance. It estimates that around two-thirds of the 67 A320 and A321 aircraft operated by the island's carriers are affected.
ANA Holdings, Japan's biggest airline, cancelled 65 flights on Saturday and warned of more disruption on Sunday.
ANA and its affiliates, such as Peach Aviation, operate the most Airbus A320 jets in Japan.
Its chief rival, Japan Airlines, has a mostly Boeing fleet and does not fly the A320.
Nationwide, 95 flights were cancelled, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Globally, about 11,300 of the single-aisle jets are in service, including 6440 of the core A320.
The fix mainly involves reverting to earlier software, and although relatively simple, it must be completed before the planes can fly again.
Jetstar, the budget carrier of Qantas, said some of its flights were affected by the recall, resulting in travel disruptions at Australian airports.
But it said all affected planes would return to service by Sunday.
South Korea's Asiana Airlines said it did not expect significant disruptions to its flight schedule, with only 17 of its aircraft affected by the recall.
Its domestic rival, Korean Air, said it was working to get 10 of its jets back into service.
The world's largest A320 operator, American Airlines, said 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft needed the fix, most of which it expected to complete by Saturday.
US carriers American, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines are among the world's 10 biggest A320-family operators.
Other airlines that said they would do the repairs include Germany's Lufthansa, and Britain-based easyjet.
Colombian carrier Avianca said the recall affected more than 70 per cent of its fleet, prompting it to close ticket sales for travel dates through December 8.
