Nepal plane crash aftermath: After DGCA cracks whip, IndiGo cancels 47 flights across India
A day after the horrific incident of a plane crash in Kathmandu, Nepal, India's budget carrier IndiGo cancelled as many as 47 flights today. The move came after the private airline was slapped with a notice by the national aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that grounded its eight A320Neo planes with faulty Pratt & Whitney engines. According to reports, GoAir's three such aircraft have also been grounded.
IndiGo made an official announcement on its website stating that as many as 47 flights have been cancelled from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Patna, Srinagar, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Srinagar and Guwahati, among others.
#IndiGo has cancelled certain flights due to the grounding of aircraft further to the DGCA directions which have been issued in the interest of safety. A320neos aircraft fitted with PW1100 engines were grounded with immediate effect by DGCA yesterday.
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2018
IndiGo's flight bound for Lucknow returned to Ahmedabad within 40 minutes of its take off due to a mid-air engine failure yesterday.
DGCA's director, in an order that was issued yesterday, cited safety measures for airlines. The order grounded A320 Neos Airbus fitted with PW1100 engines beyond ESN 450 with immediate effect.
Three other IndiGo A320Neo planes have been on the ground since February following similar engine problems.
In an official release. IndiGo announced complying with DGCA's directive and apologised for the inconvenience caused to its passengers.
"While we understand that this may cause inconvenience to some of our passengers, given that we have multiple flights to the same destination, we are proactively re-accommodating all our affected passengers on other flights."
IndiGo passengers have the option to either choose another flight at no additional cost or cancel their booking and get a full refund without any cancellation charges.
Indian airlines like IndiGo and GoAir cancelled over dozens of flights yesterday after a plane crashed at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport; at least 49 passengers onboard are reported dead with 22 injured.
IndiGo operates about 1,000 flights daily and carries about 40 per cent domestic flyers.
(With inputs from agencies)