Budget airline GoAir has announced that it has temporarily suspended certain flights that are part of its network, schedule and open for sale. The company said that the temporary suspension is because of the inability of Airbus and Pratt & Whitney to deliver previously promised aircraft and engines through March 9, 2020.
“On the back of a firm order for 144 Airbus A320neo aircraft, GoAir’s business plan articulates a continued double-digit growth through 2025… In the last four weeks, we have gone through unplanned grounding of aircraft, which were supporting our current operation of fleet,” the company said in a statement.
However, GoAir has said that its currently published schedule has incorporated the fact that it is currently short on aircraft and engines.
“Our currently published schedule has incorporated a conservative view of aircraft and engine deliveries as provided by Airbus and Pratt & Whitney to minimize, or eliminate, the need for flight cancelations in the future,” a company spokesperson said.
GoAir claims that it has undertaken these suspensions ahead of time to minimise inconvenience to customers. The company expects to reinstate these flights and operate at the earliest opportunity.
“GoAir remains on track to receive 12-15 aircraft each year through the end of 2025 in support of our planned growth,” the spokesperson added.
In December, GoAir had cancelled around 40 domestic flights from major cities on December 24 and 25, leaving several passengers stranded. During this period, it also reported air turn back of two if its aircraft due to engine glitches and they were later taken out of operations for further inspection.
It said at the time that flight operations were affected due to bad weather, ongoing protests and delay in delivery of aircraft by Airbus and non-availability of spare engines from Pratt & Whitney.
Post this, DGCA issued show cause notices to nearly 100 pilots and senior executives of GoAir over alleged violation of flight duty time limit (FDTL) norms.