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Engine issues in A320 Neo planes, IndiGo cancels 84 flights

Last Updated 18 August 2017, 13:28 IST
IndiGo has grounded at least eight Airbus A320(neo - new engine option) planes following problems in its engines leading to rescheduling of its services, including around 80 flights on Thursday.
 
However, the airline said in a statement that the grounding of the planes had been scehduled earlier and fliers affected by it had already been accommodated “with suitable options”.
 
While the airline claimed only eight A320(neo) planes were grounded, PTI reported that 13 aircraft of IndiGo running on Pratt & Whitney-supplied engines were grounded. One aircraft usually fly five-six times a day.
 
“This is to clarify that our eight neos are grounded. Our schedule was planned in June itself pertaining to non-availability of these aircraft for the month of July, August and September. The affected passengers have already been accommodated with suitable options,” the airline said in a statement in the afternoon.
 
In a second statement in the evening, it said, four of IndiGo's A320(ceo - current engine option) aircraft were grounded due to engines being stuck at Customs. “We are awaiting certain clarifications post the implementation of GST, which has led to unplanned flight cancellations. All passengers have been informed of the changes and accommodated accordingly,” it said.
 
It claimed that there was no new development pertaining to the grounding of neos. Referring to the June earning’s call, it said there were instances where nine neos were grounded due to inadequate spare engines.
 
“At present, eight neos are grounded because of the unavailability of spare engines. These have already been factored in our revised schedule which was finalized in June and there are no additional flight cancellations on account of these Neos," it added.
 
The reports about grounding had an effect on IndiGo shares, which fell 0.49% to Rs1,270.30 at the close of trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
 
The Pratt & Whitney engines have been giving trouble to the engines and IndiGo had received compensation from the company for the snags.
 
Sources said around 650 flights were cancelled by IndiGo between June 21 and July 3. Statistics showed that around 500 flights were cancelled between June 21 and June 30 while the remaining were cancelled between July 1 and 3.
 
In July while talking about Quarter-1 results, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh had acknowledged the problem with the engines. “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,” Ghosh had then said.
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(Published 18 August 2017, 08:28 IST)

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