Hyderabad:With aviation regulator DGCA tightening safety checks on all aircraft fleet in the wake of the June 12 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash at Ahmedabad, carriers are forced to keep multiple aircraft in their hangars disrupting services across the country.
At Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Friday, Air India cancelled four international and three domestic services, airport officials confirmed. Flight AI 2204 from Dubai and AI 2872 to Mumbai were affected); passengers were notified in advance under standard protocol, RGIA said.
Former Air India Captain S.P. Anil Kumar, who logged more than 22,000 flying hours over a 34-year career, told Deccan Chronicle that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) “has always been strict, but post-6/12 the inspection regime is even tougher.”
Phase checks — classified as A, B, C and D depending on whether it is a Boeing or Airbus — can sideline a jet for up to four days, he noted. A full C-check, normally carried out every two years, takes roughly 45 days and requires DGCA sign-off before the aircraft can return to service.
According to DGCA data, 66 flights operated by the Dreamliner aircraft have been scrubbed since the crash. On June 12 alone, six of the 50 planned Dreamliner operations were grounded. By June 18, 24 of Air India’s 33 Dreamliners had completed mandatory inspections, with the remainder scheduled in the coming days; two jets remain listed as Aircraft on Ground (AOG) in Delhi for maintenance.
Airlines and RGIA officials said further cancellations are possible until the intensified inspection programme is completed.
