DGCA extends deadline for IndiGo, GoAir to replace PW engines to August 31

This decision comes as the low-cost carriers could not meet the original deadline of May 31 after the supply chain was hit because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the deadline for IndiGo and GoAir to replace all the 60 unmodified Pratt&Whitney (P&W) engines on their A320neo planes by three months.

This decision comes as the low-cost carriers could not meet the original deadline of May 31 after the supply chain was hit because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We took a call couple of days back and instructed both the airlines. Both taken together about 60 engines are yet to be replaced and the obvious reason was Covid-19 impact and the resultant lockdowns,” Arun Kumar, the aviation regulator’s director general, said.

“Supply chains and production lines all got impacted and in turn disturbed the process. Keeping all this in view, we have extended the deadline by three months up to August 31, 2020,” Kumar said.

“We also instructed that for the current times, aircraft with both engines modified should be flown and this should not be difficult as the curtailed operations are likely to last for some more time,” he added.

Both the airlines were instructed by the regulator in March to replace their unmodified engines by May 31 following a series of serious snags in aircraft fitted with the engines.

IndiGo has 106 PW powered A320Neo planes in its fleet while GoAir has 43 of them.