Getting delayed by IndiGo, GoAir grounded jets? Relief already here; know how

After thousands of flyers' schedules were disrupted when the government announced that it was grounding as many as 14 A320neo jets over the trouble that was faced by the Pratt and Whitney engines, some relief is finally on the way. The announcement had affected both IndiGo and GoAir aircraft and it had led to a cascading effect all down the line with both airlines scrambling to adjust their passengers on other airlines or trying to rush in planes that they were using elsewhere to cater to the already-booked passengers. Nevertheless, the confusion and the frustration caused to both the staff and the flyers themselves was immense. However, today it has emerged that the problem is more or less over and that the situation should be limping back to normal soon.

The reason for that optimistic outlook stems from the government's announcement today. It said that out of the 14 A320neo aircraft that were grounded due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues, as many as 11 have resumed flying. Of the 11 jets back in action now, 8 belong to IndiGo and 3 to GoAir. And this has happened after engines of these jets were changed. The engine woes had hit 11 A320neos that were being operated by IndiGo and 3 by GoAir. The same was revealed by Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha who said, "As of now, 11 of the 14 grounded aircraft have started flying after changing the engines." He had provided this information through a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Exactly how bad the entire grounding experience was for the staff of the airlines concerned as well as the flying public can be gauged from the fact that 776 IndiGo flights were cancelled from March 13 till April 2. In the same period, the statement added, as many as 336 flights were cancelled by GoAir.

This had followed from  March 12, order by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which had grounded 11 A320neo planes that were flying on faulty P&W 1100 engines. The serial numbers on these engines were 450 and over. 

The entire issue acquired urgency when 3 IndiGo jets, with both faulty engines, were grounded, in February of the year as a result of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) directive on the airworthiness of the engines. The emergency directive happened after some instances of aborted take-offs and even in-flight shut down that happened on A320neo planes worldwide.

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With so many passengers affected by the grounding of the aircraft, Jayant Sinha also addressed the issue concerning them and said flight schedules were changed to accommodate them and even free cancellations were allowed besides re-bookings.

The emergency by the numbers - Between March 13 - April 2:

* 776 out of 21,000 scheduled flights of IndiGo cancelled

* 336 out of 5,396 scheduled flights of GoAir cancelled