HC pulls up govt, DGCA, airlines on A320neo
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Interglobe Aviation Ltd and Go Airlines (India) Ltd on a plea seeking the grounding of the entire fleet of faulty A320neo aircraft in the “larger interest of public safety”.
The petition has been filed by a non-profit organization, Air Passengers Association of India.
Several “significant technical issues” have been experienced in Airbus A320neo aircraft fitted with PW1100G engines, according to a statement issued by the DGCA on 28 August 2019, the petition contended.
The DGCA had “clearly acknowledged the threat to pascrete senger safety as it asked airlines to log all cases of detection of odour or smoke in the cabin during operations, monitor and inspect engines in case of vibration,” it said.
The plea has alleged that despite being aware of “significant technical issues with Airbus A320neo”, neither the ministry of civil aviation (MCA) nor the DGCA have taken any consteps to ground these aircraft. MCA and the DGCA have only issued notices extending the timelines for carrying out the repairs or engine modifications by the airlines concerned, it added.
“It is submitted that respondent 1 (MCA) and 2 (DGCA) have repeatedly extended the timelines for modified versions of the Pratt and Whitney engines to be installed, instead of grounding the entire fleet of A320 Neo aircraft,” The petition reads.
The petitioner has alleged that despite the safety risks being widely reported and being acknowledged internationally, Centre and DGCA have failed to ground the entire fleet of the faulty Airbus A320neo despite repeated assurances of being aware and conscious of the situation.