IndiGo and GoAir’s P&W engine faults lack quick fixes

New Delhi: Frequent snags in Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines powering Airbus SE’s A320neo planes of IndiGo and GoAir may not have easy and immediate fixes, underscoring the need for stringent measures to address the issue that has stoked concerns about passenger safety, experts said.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, and rival GoAir recently won a reprieve when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) extended a 31 January deadline for modification of P&W engines installed on their A320neo planes to May-end. But a slew of incidents, the latest being the return of an A320neo aircraft on Thursday following a loud noise during a flight from Mumbai to Hyderabad, highlights the risks passengers would have to endure unless the engines are fixed or a blanket ban imposed by the regulator on flying A320neo planes with P&W engines.