Question : Disruptions in Flight Operations

(a) whether some of the airlines witnessed four air turn back/inflight shut down recently leading to serious concern and disruption in the flight operation and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government is aware that airlines which got disrupted were operating on Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of Indian airlines which are operating on older Pratt and Whitney engines, airlines-wise;

(d) whether the Government/ Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed all the airlines using Pratt and Whitney engines to replace it by 31st January, 2020 following a series of recent incidents; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and the response of the airlines companies in this regard?

The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)

(a) & (b) Yes, Sir. During the month of October and November 2019 (till 15.11.2019), 06 cases of air turn back/inflight shut down were reported by Indian scheduled airlines on aircraft fitted with Pratt and Whitney (P&W) 1100 G engines on Airbus A 320 Neo aircraft. There was no consequential damage to aircraft and no injuries to any person onboard the aircraft was reported for the 06 such cases. The details of occurrences are at Annexure. ;

(c) to (e) Two (02) Indian scheduled airlines operate aircrafts fitted with P & W 1100 G engines. The number of such aircraft operated by these two airlines is as under:;

Indigo 98 (A320 - 91 and A321 - 07);

Go Air 38;

In light of recent cases of inflight shutdown in Indigo fleet, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed the airlines to replace all unmodified engines with modified engines by 31st Jan 2020. In the interest of safety, airlines flying A320 fitted with Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines have been asked to operate only those aircraft which have at least one modified engine. DGCA is continuously monitoring the implementation of these directives.