Air India buyout: IndiGo faces crisis over grounding of planes

Girja Shankar Kaura

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 21

Even as the country’s largest domestic airline by market share IndiGo seeks to bid for Air India in consortium with Qatar Airways, it is facing unprecedented crisis as eight of its new Airbus A320neo jets have been grounded by the DGCA over instances of engine failures.

This has resulted in a large number of flights being cancelled and its passengers being harassed over the cancellations or change of flight.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the DGCA to file an affidavit as required under the Aircraft Rules on the safety and airworthiness of the A320neo planes flying in India.

The order by the Bench came after the petitioner, Yashwant Shenoy, told the court that there have been 100 engine failures in connection with the A320neos. These planes are not allowed in the US and European airspace in accordance with EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) directives, he claimed.

The DGCA told the court that there were engine failure problems in the modified A320neos, which numbered 14 and were grounded. The remaining had not been modified and therefore a conscious decision was taken to not ground them.

The airline has cancelled 406 domestic and international flights between March 16 and March 31. P&W, the engine supplier for the Airbus A320neo, has now undertaken to replace all the faulty engines within 40 days.

Reports said there had been 69 engine failures in IndiGo’s A320neo fleet till September 15, 2017. The airline had received its first such aircraft on March 11, 2016, which means that there had been 69 engine failures in 18 months.

Air pocket 

• IndiGo seeks to make a bid for Air India in consortium with Qatar Airways
• Eight of IndiGo’s Airbus A320neo jets have been grounded by the DGCA over instances of engine failures
• The airline has cancelled 406 domestic and international flights between March 16 and March 31