There have been complaints about broken hand rests, meal tables, window panes and torn seats
Old Indian airplanes will be checked at night thoroughly. This move will be carried out at all major airports in the country. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to send teams to check each aircraft thoroughly. There have been complaints about broken hand rests, meal tables, window panes and torn seats.
Broken items in aircraft cabins could potentially affect safety —hurt passengers during turbulence in bad weather — and will be grounded and allowed to fly again only after the deficiencies have been rectified, said a senior regulatory official. These checks will be in addition to the regular engineering inspections.
The exercise was kicked off — informally with the DGCA recently – when passengers Tweeted pictures of shabby interiors of a SpiceJet Boeing 737 in Bengaluru and an Air India Airbus A320 in Kolkata. The carriers have been told to repair the broken furniture before being allowed to fly again.
After SpiceJet’s 70 aircraft are checked on a priority basis, the DGCA teams will check planes of other carriers. The first to come under the scanner will be airlines with weak finances and/or old aircraft
“Now we will do this on a regular basis at night time when the planes are parked. If anything that could affect safety is detected, the planes will be grounded till the airline rectifies the deficiencies,” a senior official was quoted by ToI.
“(Exhaustive checks) are in progress. We have covered about half the fleet (of SpiceJet’s 70 aircraft). Deficiencies are being identified and addressed. Will not let an aircraft with any safety issue fly without it being properly attended. We expect things to improve shortly,” DGCA chief Arun Kumar told ToI.
SpiceJet was told in no uncertain terms that they need to spend money to ensure safe operations. They could defer all other expenses but cannot compromise on safety. After SpiceJet’s 70 aircraft are checked on a priority basis, the DGCA teams will check planes of other carriers. The first to come under the scanner will be airlines with weak finances and/or old aircraft.
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