India's low-cost carrier Indigo and ultra-low-cost carrier Go First have jointly been forced to ground over 50 of their jets. The issue has arisen through a major supply chain problem with their engine provider Pratt & Whitney.
According to ANI news agency, the U.S.-based engine manufacture issued a statement outlining the current challenges it was facing: “We're experiencing global supply chain challenges which are limiting the availability of structural castings and other parts. We're progressing on our mitigation strategies with our supply base and expanding MRO network capacity while continuing hardware and software upgrades to extend engine time on the wing. At the same time, we're coordinating closely with customers on solutions to minimize operational disruption. We expect supply chain pressures to ease later this year, which will support the output of both production and MRO engines.”
Currently, a minimum of 25 IndiGo and Go First aircraft are grounded because of P&W engine issues. P&W is unable to secure timely delivery of new engines due to supply chain bottlenecks according to government officials. Indigo has the most aircraft engines scheduled to be changed in the coming days, with around 30 aircraft in its fleet standing by for engine replacement.
