Airlines reported 1000 tech snags in 2017, half of them by Air India:Govt

Domestic carriers reported a total of 1,000 technical snags in 2017 with the Air India accounting for more than half of the glitches, according to data shared by the government in Parliament on Thursday.

The divestment-bound national carrier witnessed 581 technical glitches across its fleet of Airbuses and Boeing aircraft.

It was followed by the SpiceJet with 259 snags reported across its fleet of Boeing and the smaller Bombardier Q400 aircraft. The Jet Airways saw 80 technical problems in its fleet of Boeings, Airbuses and ATR planes.

Market leader IndiGo reported 37 cases of malfunctions in its planes.

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These figures were shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha in the Lok Sabha.

The national carrier, comprising Air India, Air India Express and Alliance Air, has the largest fleet size of 155 aircraft. The IndiGo has the second largest number of planes at 150.

The Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 115 aircraft and SpiceJet has 57 planes.

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The Go Air, which has 32 planes, reported 17 technical problems. The AirAsia has 14 aircraft and faced 16 glitches, while the Vistara, with 17 aircraft, witnessed 3 malfunctions.

However, most airlines registered a significant decline in technical malfunctions in 2017 as compared to 2016.

But IndiGo, which bore the brunt of snag-ridden Pratt and Whitney engines on its A320 Neos, saw a 54 per cent rise in glitches -- up from 24 last year to 37 this year.