Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet are required to check Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft: the reason
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India has ordered an immediate inspection of the entire fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by three local airlines. These are Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet.
The order came after an accident in the United States when a Boeing 737 MAX 9 lost part of its fuselage during a flight. According to The Times Of India, the DGCA directive required carriers to check the aircraft by Sunday, January 7.
"None of the Indian carriers has a Boeing 737-9 Max in its fleet yet. However, as a serious precautionary measure, we have ordered all Indian airline operators to immediately conduct a one-time emergency exit inspection on all Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft currently in their fleet," the DGCA said in a statement.
According to Simple Flying, Indian airlines currently operate 41 aircraft of this model. Akasa Air has the largest number of Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The carrier has 22 of them in its fleet.
As a reminder, an Alaska Airlines plane recently made an emergency landing because a part of the fuselage broke off during the flight and the cabin was depressurized.
Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the incident has significant consequences. Alaska Airlines has recalled all aircraft of this model for inspection.