Another IndiGo aircraft was grounded in Jammu on Sunday – the third in the past 24 hours – after a fuel leak was reported from the engine, ANI reported.
The budget airline had grounded two other A320neo aircraft because of safety concerns earlier in the day – one at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after the pilot detected a problem in the engine, and the second in Srinagar after a hydraulic leak from an engine.
Earlier this month, the Directorate of Civil Aviation grounded 11 A320neo planes that ran on faulty Pratt & Whitney engines. Eight were from IndiGo’s fleet, and three from GoAir’s. 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 is taken into account.
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