The low cost carrier, GoAir might have to cancel some of its flights in the coming days because of the Pratt & Whitney engine issues. The carrier is facing some technical glitches with its Airbus A320neos’ engines which are provided by Pratt & Whitney. However, P&W has said that it would be unable to provide expected products before March 9. It is worth noting that in the past month, GoAir also had to face a handful of delays and cancellations because of pilot shortage.
GoAir’s 80 Flights Daily Affected by Grounded Aircraft
The popular low cost carrier, GoAir might be looking to cancel as much as 50 flights in a day as it has grounded around seven of the total 42 aircrafts that it operates. This might mean huge losses for the carrier and hence disruption for the passengers as well. The cancellations would mean massive gaps in GoAir’s schedule too.
As per GoAir’s schedule, each flight takes up to eight to nine flights daily that means GoAir is short of around 80 flights every day. Instead of simply letting things slip, GoAir is making arrangements to pull flights from its long haul routes to cater to these daily flights.
In a statement to ET, GoAir remarked, “In the last four weeks, we have gone through unplanned grounding of aircraft, which were supporting our current operation of fleet. And now, we have been informed by our business partners Airbus and Pratt & Whitney of their inability to deliver previously promised aircraft and engines through 9th March 2020 that are required to support our current growth.” The airline also said, “As a result, we have been forced to temporarily suspend certain flights that are part of our network, schedule and open for sale.”
DGCA Orders Replacement of Engines for GoAir and IndiGo
To recall, the order to replace the P&W engines on the Airbus A320neos came from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) back in November 2019. DGCA had initially given 13 weeks to the airlines to replace these engines but then the timeline was relaxed to May 31.
