IndiGo will have to ground 11 Airbus A-320 neo while GoAir will have to ground three such aircraft powered by certain Pratt and Whitney engines following instances of engine failures during flight.

The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the grounding of the aircraft on Monday, hours after an A320 neo aircraft of IndiGo suffered engine failure mid-air and made an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport

However, in a late evening statement, IndiGo said it will have to ground only six aircraft. The grounding could affect over 80 flights operated by the two budget airlines.

On February 24, a GoAir Airbus 320 neo suffered an inflight shutdown after taking off from Leh

“Keeping in mind the safety of aircraft operations, Airbus 320 neos fitted with PW 1100 engines beyond ESN 450 have been grounded with immediate effect. Both IndiGo and GoAir have been told not to refit these engines which are spare with them in the inventory,” the DGCA said in a statement.

DGCA’s move comes after Pratt and Whitney did not give a firm commitment in its latest communication as to when issues with the engines post Serial Number 450 will be resolved and informed that all affected engines will be replaced by early June this year. The DGCA statement added that at the moment there is no concrete proposal in place to address the issue.

Earlier this year, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had called for the global grounding of Airbus 320 neo aircraft due to a few occurrences of aborted take-offs and in-flight shutdowns on aircraft fitted with the PW 1100 from Serial Number 450 and beyond.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW