IndiGo says DGCA carrying out safety audit

18 April,2019 07:53 PM IST |   |  PTI

The filing came in response to a clarification sought from the company

File pic


InterGlobe Aviation, the company that operates budget carrier IndiGo, Thursday said regulator DGCA is carrying out an audit of its planes and that it has also received a number of show-cause notices to which it has already responded.

"There is currently a DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) audit on us which is combined with the annual main base audit. We have received a limited number of show- cause notices and have responded to accordingly," IndiGo said in an exchange filing. The filing came in response to a clarification sought from the company.

PTI had Wednesday reported that the DGCA was conducting a special safety audit of IndiGo after coming across issues in its operations and engineering, besides issuing show-cause notices to the airline's chief operating officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and engineering head SC Gupta over the Pratt & Whitney engines issues, which have many times in the past endangered passengers' safety both on ground as well as mid-air.

IndiGo and GoAir, which operate Pratt & Whitney- powered Airbus A320 Neos, have been facing problems with these engines, manufactured by the US company, since their induction three years ago.

The three-day audit started on Monday.

Later in a statement, DGCA said: "We do detailed audit of all airlines at least once in a year. IndiGo's is this month. Every audit involves some actions."

The DGCA further said that "in such audits, current safety issues remain quite a focus."

On its part, IndiGo confirmed that an ongoing DGCA audit is being conducted combined with the annual main base audit.

"IndiGo has received a limited number of show-cause notices. IndiGo has responded accordingly and we can only comment on this matter after we have a discussion with the DGCA," the airline said in a statement.

More than 18 cases of midair engine failures or problems have been reported in the A320 Neos operated by IndiGo and GoAir since January, industry sources said.

Excessive vibration resulting in midair "turn backs' has emerged as the most common and serious safety issue with the P&W engine-powered Neos

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