InterGlobe Aviation-run budget carrier IndiGo today cancelled over 80 flights as the airline grounded more Airbus A320 Neo (new engine option) planes due to engine issues.
As many as 13 A320 Neo aircraft are on ground due to the Pratt & Whitney-supplied engine issues, forcing the airline to cancel 84 flights today, sources told PTI.
The frequent grounding of the A320 planes is taking place due to multiple issues, including engine failure, the sources said.
According to the sources, a total of 667 flights were cancelled by IndiGo between June 21 and July 3 this year, with 61 flights cancelled on June 27 alone, due to the grounding of these planes.
IndiGo president and whole-time director Aditya Ghosh had during the post-Q1 earnings call on July 31 said that "regrettably, there have been days when we have had to ground as many as nine A320 Neo (planes) due to lack of spare engines. While we do receive certain compensation from Pratt & Whitney for these groundings, the operational disruptions are quite challenging and we are not happy with that situation."
The sources also said that of the 667 flights cancelled by IndiGo in 13 days, a total of 504 flights were cancelled between June 21 and June 30, while the remaining 163 were cancelled on the first three days of July.
A response to the queries sent to IndiGo on the issue was awaited.
A text message sent to the Director General of Civil Aviation, B S Bhullar, seeking response to a query whether the DGCA was considering grounding of the entire Airbus A320 Neo fleet with Pratt & Whitney engines, did not yield any response.
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace company that manufactures both civil and military aircraft engines. The US-based company is also involved in manufacturing of gas turbines and marine turbines for industrial and power generation.
Among other contracts, Pratt & Whitney has supplied engines for the F-35 fighter, Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III and F-16 to the US military.
Passenger aircraft manufacturer Airbus currently offers two engine choices for its Airbus A320 Neos - Pratt & Whitney Pure Power PW1100G-JM and the CFM LEAP-1A engines of CFM.
In India, Pratt & Whitney's has supplied its PW1100G engines to commercial airlines, including IndiGo and GoAir.
IndiGo has 129 A-320s in its fleet of which 16 are Neos. And GoAir's current fleet of 24 includes 5 Neos. The DGCA expects to complete probing the engines in next two weeks.
IndiGo and GoAir have ordered hundreds of A-320 Neos with P&W engines and are taking up the issue with the engine manufacturer and Airbus. Vistara and Air India A-320Neos have CFM engines.