NEW DELHI: A day after joining the list of countries that has suspended operation of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, India’s aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Wednesday that lifting the ban on the Max planes will be based on inputs from various agencies and it will not happen soon. DGCA will take information from regulators and manufacturers before lifting the suspension.
Meanwhile, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates aviation industry in the US, is yet to suspend the use of the Boeing Max planes in their homeland. FAA in a tweet on Wednesday, said it “continues to review extensively all available data and aggregate safety performance from operators and pilots of the Boeing 737 MAX”. “Thus far, our review shows no systematic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding (of) the aircraft. Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action,” it said.
The DGCA also clarified that airlines will not be compensated for loss caused due to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The decision has impacted only budget carrier SpiceJet, which had 12 operational Max planes in its fleet, which reportedly might seek compensation from the manufacturer Boeing.
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Indonesia and Ethiopia have grounded their Boeing Max 8 aircraft over safety concerns, following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines on Sunday that killed 157 passengers.On the impact that passengers may face from the ban, civil aviation secretary P S Kharola said SpiceJet has “increased the utilisation of existing aircraft, so that the cancellations get limited.”