New Delhi: Indian airlines faced as many as 338 technical snags during the operation of planes this year till July, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen. (Retd) VK Singh on Monday said.
Out of the total snags, IndiGo faced a total of 206 snags followed by Air India (49), Go Air (22), SpiceJet (21) and Akasa Air (18).
According to a report of ANI, Gen. VK Sing in a written reply in Rajya Sabha said that the technical snags within an aircraft might arise from malfunctioning components or equipment, requiring rectification by airlines before an aircraft is released fit for operation.
Notably, in the current year till July 2023, IndiGo reported the highest number of technical snags, recording 206 instances. Further, regulations require the operator to report all occurrences to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Such incidents could result from equipment malfunctions or adverse weather conditions etc. Some events like air turnbacks, aborted takeoffs, or go-arounds are actions taken by the pilot in the interest of operational safety, primarily to avert potential incidents or accidents, the minister said.
Back in 2022, a total of 446 similar cases were reported by domestic airlines, with IndiGo contributing 215 cases, followed by SpiceJet (143) and Vistara (97).
While informing the house about the measures to rectify these technical faults, the minister highlighted that operators are obligated to promptly report all incidents experienced during aircraft operations to the DGCA.
“The responsibility of taking action on technical malfunctions lies with the operator. The DGCA maintains a robust system of routine surveillance including spot checks and nighttime surveillance, aimed at ensuring that operators and organizations uphold regulatory provisions. In case there is an increase in occurrence indicating the likelihood of non-adherence to procedures, the DGCA holds the authority to initiate focused audits”, VK Sigh told to the house.