Two Vietnamese airlines ground 40 aircraft due to engine inspection
VOV.VN - Dinh Viet Thang, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), has just issued a Directive on compliance and implementation of Alert Service Bulletine for PW1100 engines on the Airbus A321 NEO fleet that is being operated by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air.
According to the move, 40 Airbus A321 NEO aircraft of the two domestic airlines need to be grounded due to inspection of Pratt & Whitney’s (PW) 1100G-JM Engines.
Inspection work is being performed based on the Service Bulletin from P&W which was issued in November, 2023, with the aim of administering mandatory GTF engine inspections.
Thang requested that the two air carriers report results and implementation plans to the CAAV before February 15.
Le Hong Ha, general director of Vietnam Airlines, said that in normal conditions it would take 75 to 90 days to repair any engines suffering from technical problems. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic the global supply chain has been disrupted, thereby causing a lack of spare parts. Therefore, the engine inspection and repair time could last up to 200 days or more.
As a means of ensuring smooth business operations, from the end of 2023 Vietnam Airlines has negotiated with lessors in order to rent additional aircraft amid high travel demand during the lunar New Year festival (Tet).
