80 flights rescheduled; airline says fliers not hit

New Delhi, Aug 19 (DHNS): IndiGo has grounded at least eight Airbus A320neo (new engine option) planes following problems in its engines, which led to the rescheduling of around 80 flights on Friday.

However, the airline said in a statement that the move was planned earlier and affected fliers had already been accommodated “with suitable options”.

While the airline claimed only eight planes were grounded, PTI reported that 13 aircraft running on Pratt & Whitney-supplied engines were grounded. One aircraft usually flies five to six times a day.

“This is to clarify that our eight neos are grounded. Our schedule was planned in June pertaining to non-availability of these aircraft for the month of July, August and September. The affected passengers have already been accommodated with suitable options,” the airline said.

In a second statement in the evening, it said, four IndiGo A320ceo (current engine option) aircraft were grounded as the engines were stuck with the Customs.

“We are awaiting certain clarifications post the implementation of GST, which has led to unplanned flight cancellations. All passengers have been informed of the changes and accommodated accordingly,” it said.

It claimed that there was no new development pertaining to the grounding of neos. Referring to the June earning’s call, it said there were instances where nine neos were grounded due to inadequate spare engines.

IndiGo cancellation rate vs overall

Month IndiGo Overall

January 0.98% 1.1%

February 0.27% 0.39%

March 0.26% 0.41%

April 0.19% 0.43%

May 0.14% 0.33%

June 3.34% 1.68%

July 0.45% 0.79%

Source: DGCA.