NEW DELHI: India’s aviation regulator on Monday directed IndiGo to ground an Airbus A320/21 currently in its fleet with unmodified Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines each time it inducts a new A320/21 with modified PW engines under both its wings.
The earlier Neo will be grounded till it gets modified engines. And the new one will fly it’s routes till then so that there is no schedule disruption in the ongoing winter travel season.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Kumar has also ordered that IndiGo should lease only A320/21 Neos that have modified PW engines under both their wings.
IndiGo is the world’s largest customer of Airbus A320 Neo family of aircraft with 635 of these yet to be delivered at the rate of one plane a week for the next 12-13 years. The order could hit IndiGo’s growth plans in the short to medium term. An IndiGo spokesperson said: “The current schedule remains intact. IndiGo is working with PW and Airbus to adjust inflow of modified engines to meet DGCA guidelines.”
