SME Times News Bureau | 15 Nov, 2019
In a breather to low-cost
airlines IndiGo and GoAir, aviation regulator Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the deadline for replacing their
faulty Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines on their Airbus 320neo
aircraft.
The two carriers now have time till November 24 to install modified 'Low Pressure Turbine' (LPT) engines on their planes.
In
case of IndiGo, the regulator had directed the carrier to initially
change engines in 16 aircraft by November 12. The deadline for GoAir to
change the engines in their 13 jets was November 13.
The
regulator subsequently asked IndiGo to change glitch-prone engines in 23
aircraft by November 19. But the trouble soon mounted with the
regulator directing the airline to change all its faulty PW engines by
January 31, 2020.
Non-compliance with the DGCA directives meant grounding of their fleet.
A
DGCA official said that the timeline for IndiGo to replace the faulty
engines remains January 31, 2020 for its entire A320neo fleet but the
deadline for other batches of aircraft has been relaxed for both the two
carriers.
An airline executive said that provided an engine is available for replacement, it takes about 15-16 hours to make the change.
The
DGCA official said that IndiGo has so far placed modified engines out
of 23 aircraft. The other carrier GoAir has changed the engines on 9
aircraft out of 13.
