Budget airlines IndiGo on Sunday grounded two more A320neo aircraft because of safety concerns. While one was grounded at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after the pilot detected a problem in the engine, the second was suspended in Srinagar after a hydraulic leak from its engine.
“An A320 neo aircraft that operated Bangalore-Delhi this morning was proactively withdrawn in Delhi for a maintenance check to attend to a pilot reported defect,” the airlines said in a statement. “These maintenance checks are part of a comprehensive programme of early detection.”
IndiGo said they found metal chips on engine No 1 and 3. “At IndiGo, the safety of our passengers and aircraft is of utmost importance,” it added.
This comes a week after the Directorate of Civil Aviation grounded 11 A320neo planes that ran on faulty Pratt & Whitney engines. The DGCA’s decision came hours after an A320neo aircraft of IndiGo suffered an engine failure mid-air and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Ahmedabad airport. The aviation authority has asked IndiGo and GoAir not to refit these engines with spare parts in their inventory.
After the DGCA’s orders, IndiGo and GoAir have cancelled more than 600 flights scheduled till March-end. The cancellations are likely to affect an estimated 1 lakh passengers if the passenger load factor of both these airlines in January are taken into account.
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