Air India on Saturday evening completed upgrades on 69 out of their 113 Airbus fleet impacted by orders for mandatory upgradation of software and hardware before being pressed into service.
Talking of Indigo, by Saturday evening, 184 out of its 200 aircraft from the Airbus family had been upgraded, while inspections on the remaining were progressing.
The two airlines stressed that no flights have been cancelled, though there might be flight delays as a result of the mandatory checks.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier directed that until the mandatory software and hardware updates for Airbus family aircraft are carried out, flights will remain grounded.
This follows similar directives by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Airbus corporation on similar lines.
The move affected Airbus A318, A319, A320, and A321 airplanes. The airlines that are operating these have been directed to first comply with the necessary changes, and till then refrain from operating these aircraft.
Air India, in a statement, said “safety is a priority” and added that, following the directives, a mandatory hardware and software re-alignment will be carried out before flying its fleet.
In the Air India fleet, there are around 113 Airbus airplanes that were affected, while Indigo’s 200 aircraft had faced the issue.
According to sources, there are around 300 such airplanes that require modifications.
Air India Express’ 25 aircraft were affected, out of which 17 had been upgraded by 1730 hours.
The three airlines suggest that their affected aircraft will be updated by the end of Saturday.
The DGCA order issued earlier on Saturday says that, “This is to ensure that no person shall operate the product which falls under the applicability of this Mandatory Modification except those which are in accordance with the compliance with requirement of Mandatory Modification (s)/ applicable Airworthiness Directive(s).”
The Indian regulator said, “All operators are informed of the Mandatory Modification(s)/ Inspection (s) and Master Mandatory Modification List kept in your office is updated. You are requested to confirm the compliance in accordance with Airworthiness Procedure Manual Section- II, Chapter 7.”