NEW DELHI: After cancelling more than 40 flights so far this week, budget carrier GoAir on Thursday said that delay in delivery of Airbus A320 Neo aircraft is one of the reasons for the flight cancellations this week. “GoAir has placed an order of 144 Airbus A320Neo aircraft and experienced delivery delays during the month of November and December, adding to its operational challenge,” the airline said.
The Wadia group-owned airline added that due to inclement weather in North India, the airline experienced extensive flight delays and diversions leading to cancellations of flights.
It conceded that “flight duty time limits,” which relates to mandatory rest period for crew, had also affected its operations. According to officials, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has came down heavily on the Mumbai-based airline for making pilots and cabin crew work in excess as compared to the stipulated hours.
However, the airline has maintained that it has adequate crew of cockpit resources to fly 325 daily flights.
The airline further said that non-availability of Pratt & Whitney (P&W) spare engines have also hampered the smooth functioning of the airline. The DGCA has previously asked IndiGo and GoAir to fix their older P&W engine powered A320neo planes over safety concerns.
Data collated from an aircraft deliveries tracking website suggests that the budget carrier has inducted less planes in the fleet this year as compared to the last year. The cockpit and cabin crew duty and rest norms are governed by the aviation safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation.