Air India grounds Dreamliner fleet
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Air India has grounded its entire fleet of six Boeing 787 Dreamliners after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order on Thursday morning.
The order was issued after the US aviation regulatory authority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), came up with similar advisory. Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh said no one knows how long it will take to resolve the issue and the national carrier is entitled for compensation.
The directive came at 4:30am (India time). It is too early to even speculate how long this issue will take. So at the right time, if needed, Air India will seek compensation from Boeing. For an airline, safety is top priority. The moment FAA advised grounding of the Dreamliner, the DGCA was asked to immediately issue orders accordingly,” Singh was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
The aircraft will be allowed to fly again only after a go-ahead from the FAA and then the DGCA. Air India spokesperson said these routes will not be affected, as they will be operated by other aircraft like Boeing 777, B747, A320 and A321.
Currently, the entire global fleet of 50 Dreamliners has been temporarily grounded.
Boeing chairman, president and CEO Jim McNerney in a statement issued on its website said: “We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity. We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the traveling public of the 787’s safety and to return the airplanes to service.”
The Dreamliner did its first commercial flight in October 2011 and of the 50 Boeing 787s delivered worldwide so far, about 50% are with Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines Limited. The rest are with Air India, United Airlines, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines among others.