DGCA says Jet Airways flying 41 planes, fleet size may soon reduce

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has finally broken its silence on the severe crisis being faced by Jet Airways and has said that the airline is flying a total of 41 planes currently, which accounts for 34 percent of its total fleet.

"DGCA reviewed the performance of Jet Airways on operational, airworthiness and passenger facilitation today. Current availability of aircraft in the fleet for operation is 41 and accordingly scheduled for 603 domestic flights and 382 international flights have been drawn. However, it is a dynamic situation and there may be further attrition in coming weeks," the regulator said in a note.

DGCA on Tuesday met the civil aviation ministry officials after the union minister for civil aviation Suresh Prabhu asked the ministry and the regulator to conduct an emergency meeting taking stock of groundings, cancellations and safety concerns at Jet Airways.

The ministry was represented by the minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha and the aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.

DGCA has also instructed the airline to comply with the relevant provisions of the applicable regulations for facilitation of passengers regarding timely communication, compensation, refunds and providing alternate flights wherever applicable.

"The data is being monitored by DGCA on a regular basis," the regulator said.

Jet Airways has also been ordered to ensure that the fleet whether in operation or on ground are maintained in accordance with approved maintenance programme.

"The operator was also directed to ensure that no pilots/cabin crew/AMEs be rostered on duty who had reported stress of any nature. Additionally, all such staff should be current with all mandatory training requirements," DGCA said taking note of the stress reported by pilots and engineers on account of delayed salaries for almost three months.

In what could be a step to bar the airline from taking forward bookings for a longer travel period, DGCA further added that it is continuously monitoring the overall situation and based on the same, will take appropriate steps by the end of the month, if needed.