Despite an Air India Airbus A320 aircraft making an emergency landing at Delhi airport late on Monday night, the airline maintains that the aircraft in its fleet are safe and operating with full airworthiness certification of not only the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus but also the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Air India has a fleet of 64 Airbus aircraft in its fleet out of a total fleet strength of 130 aircraft. The Airbus A320 fleet is considered the workhorse of the airline even as officials maintain that the basic issue is with 15 of the 64 Airbus A320 which are called classic aircraft and are around 20 years old.

"All Aircraft Maintenance Programmes recommended by Airbus Industry or any other aircraft manufacturer as also the Directorate General of Civil Aviation are strictly adhered to by Air India. All safety parameters are maintained to ensure safety of flight and people,” a senior AI official said adding that just like any other machine, an aircraft also faces technical issues with age.

Late on Monday night an Air India spokesperson told newspersons that the flight operating on the Varanasi- Delhi had an emergency landing due to a hydraulic leak. "This resulted in few sparks at the nose wheel. There was no fire. All 146 passengers were evacuated safely and taken to the terminal building. No passenger was injured,” the spokesperson said.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), a body representing pilots’ interests, had written to the DGCA in March this year that the classic A320 aircraft which are 26 years old were being operated with repetitive snags endangering flight safety.

Countering the charge, a senior airline official told BusinessLine that there were several checks and balances built into the system to ensure that one or the other systems on the aircraft take over to ensure that it takes over from the system that has failed.

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