India’s aviation regulator has directed the country’s largest airline to ground one Airbus A320neo plane with unmodified Pratt & Whitney engines for every new A320neo it inducts to its fleet.
The directive comes less than two weeks after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, gave IndiGo more time to modify Pratt & Whitney engines powering its Airbus A320neo planes. On Oct. 29, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. placed a $33 billion order with Airbus SA to procure 300 A320neo planes. The deal is one of the biggest in the history of the Netherlands-headquartered aircraft maker.
"Now onwards, every aircraft that is added to the existing fleet, shall lead to one of those with unmodified engines to be grounded," said a senior DGCA official. “The new aircraft may be operated on the same schedule as was being operated by the aircraft, which will be grounded.”
Efforts undertaken by IndiGo to replace all unmodified Pratt & Whitney engines powering A320neo planes by Jan. 31 next year, as per DGCA's instructions, do not "instill enough confidence with regard to the timely completion of the said task", the official said.
On Monday, IndiGo shares rose 4.36 percent to Rs 1,450.45 apiece on the BSE while the Sensex gained 1.31 percent to close at a record-high of 40,889.23 points.
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