The aviation regulator told GoAir on Tuesday to replace the Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines in 13 Airbus A320 Neo planes that have flown more than 3,000 hours, or face grounding of the aircraft, one day after instructing IndiGo not to operate such planes.
“If they fail to carry out the changes that we have asked for in the coming fortnight, we will be compelled to ground the aircraft,’’ said Arun Kumar, chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
On Monday, DGCA, asked IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, not to use A320 Neo planes which are fitted with PW engines already used for over 3,000 hours. A DGCA official said there are 16 aircraft in IndiGo’s fleet in which both PW engines have been used for more than 2,900 hours, adding that 16 aircraft have to be fitted with at least one modified LPT (low pressure turbine) engine within next 15 days, said the official.
