6 DREAMLINERS GROUNDED OVER BATTERY GLITCH
The DGCA on Thursday grounded Air India’s six Boeing 787 Dreamliners after an emergency airworthiness directive by the US Federal Aviation Agency to “temporarily cease” aircraft operations. The agency cited a “potential battery fire risk” in the Dreamliners for temporarily ceasing operations”.
Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday grounded national carrier Air India’s six Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft following an emergency airworthiness directive issued by the United States’ Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) that operations of the aircraft be “temporarily ceased”.
The FAA said there was a “potential battery fire risk” in the Boeing 787 dreamliners that “requires operators to temporarily cease operations”. The grounding has come as a big setback to Air India which is now expected to demand compensation from Boeing for the losses suffered.
Air India said “bookings on B-787 operated flights have been closed for the
Certainly, we will not fly the Dreamliner until the FAA and our own DGCA give clearance
time being” and that “all flights scheduled to be operated with the B-787 aircraft will be operated with other aircraft”.
It had also said that “passengers already booked on these flights will be accommodated on other flights”.
There were also reports that all 50 dreamliner aircraft currently operated by various airlines throughout the world had been grounded following the FAA communication which has severely dented Boeing’s reputation and has come as a huge setback and monetary loss for it.
Civil aviation ministry sources said the grounding has come as a huge setback to the financial turnaround plan of the cash-strapped carrier. Air India is operating these six aircraft in both international and domestic routes.
The fuel-efficient dreamliners were being operated by Air India to international destinations such as Frankfurt, Paris and Dubai and to domestic destinations such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata.
“Certainly, we will not fly the Dreamliner until the FAA and our own DGCA give clearance,” civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Thursday.