Regulator Gets Involved As Pratt & Whitney Engine Issues Continue In India
Around 60 Airbus A320s are grounded in India due to a lack of engines and spares.
With no end to the problems faced by Go First and IndiGo due to their grounded A320s, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has stepped in to take stock of the situation. The grounded planes are powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, but a sluggish global supply chain has led to delays lasting for months. The DGCA is now engaging in talks with the engine maker and looking for a possible solution.
DGCA gets involved
A report by Hindustan Times (HT) states that the DGCA has stepped in to assess the situation of the several A320s sitting on the ground due to a lack of engines and spares. The two airlines affected by the problems are IndiGo and Go First. Together, they have around 55-60 planes grounded.
Go First, in particular, has been affected more simply because it is a smaller airline in terms of fleet and has had to stretch its existing active planes to permissible limits to meet operational demand. The report quotes an official as saying,
“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken up the issue with P&W and has expressed concern over the grounding of the A320 fleet of Indian carriers because of non-availability of Pratt & Whitney engines. Go First seems to be facing more issues due to this matter.”
There have been conversations in the past with P&W about setting up MRO facilities in or around India, in addition to the existing ones in Asia, to meet the demands of P&W-powered planes in the country. But recent global events have not allowed those plans to take off.
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No immediate solution
Things were looking slightly up a few months ago when Pratt & Whitney officials visited India and estimated that the problem would be significantly resolved by early 2023. But, it seems there was a slight misjudgment of the extent of global supply chain problems, with HT now quoting a P&W spokesperson as saying,
“We expect industry-wide supply chain pressures to ease later this year, which will support increased output of new and overhauled engines. In the interim, we are providing direct logistical support to our suppliers as well as developing solutions to improve engine durability in hot and harsh operating environments.”
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With no immediate solution or compensation in sight, Go First could even take legal action against P&W’s parent company, Raytheon Technologies, for damages relating to the grounding.
The problem extends beyond India, with airlines in Africa and Europe, too, facing issues with some planes powered by P&W engines ahead of the busy summer schedule. It seems the problem will take some more time to resolve, hopefully sooner rather than later.
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Source: Hindustan Times
