IndiGo and GoAir on Tuesday cancelled 65 flights after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation grounded 11 Airbus aircraft of the 320 Neo family, PTI reported. These aircraft run with a particular series of engines manufactured by aerospace company Pratt & Whitney. Eight of the planes grounded are IndiGo’s, while three are GoAir aircraft.
The flights cancelled are from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Patna, Srinagar, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Srinagar and Guwahati, among others. IndiGo cancelled 47 flights, while GoAir cancelled 18.
IndiGo issued a statement saying it will accommodate the affected passengers on other flights. The airline operates up to 1,000 flights a day.
The aviation authority made the decision hours after an A320 Neo aircraft of IndiGo’s suffered an engine failure mid-air and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Ahmedabad airport.
The DGCA grounded the Airbus neos fitted with “PW1100 engines” with engine serial numbers 450 and asked both IndiGo and GoAir to not refit these engines with spare parts in their inventory. The regulator said it will make further decisions on the matter after consulting with the European Aviation Safety Agency and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
GoAir grounding its aircraft also had a cascading effect on other flight operations. “We are altering flight schedules and communicating the same to those affected by the last minute changes; we are making all possible arrangements to minimise the impact,” the airline said, according to PTI.
Here is a list of the IndiGo flights cancelled today.
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