133 Aircraft Grounded in India: Aviation Minister

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) A total of 133 aircraft are grounded of the total 813 aircraft in the fleet of various domestic airlines, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha also said that of the remaining 680 operational aircraft, 319 belong to IndiGo while 198 planes are in the fleet of Air India and 101 with Air India Express.

The rest planes are spread across other airlines, the Minister said.

He also said that Indian carriers have placed orders for a total of 1,359 new aircraft in the previous two years, of which 999 new aircraft orders were placed in 2023 and 360 new orders in 2024.

Currently, 680 aircraft are operational for passenger travel and 133 are grounded spread across various airlines, Mohol said.

Regarding regulations for maximum permissible age for aircraft, the Minister said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has not prescribed guidelines specifying life for an aircraft to fly in India.

Aircraft are considered airworthy provided the maintenance is as per approved schedule laid down by the manufacturer, he said in his written reply.

Aircraft registered in India may operate as long as type certificate is valid to the type of Aircraft and the aircraft is under production/maintenance support provided by manufacturer for the continuous operation of the aircraft, according to the Minister.

The aircraft may be withdrawn from operation by an operator, in case it becomes 'beyond economic repair' or is 'permanently withdrawn from use' due to any reason such as spares not available, Mohol said in his written response.