The aviation regulator DGCA has issued show cause notices on operational and technical issues to IndiGo after an annual audit of the airline.

IndiGo operates the A-320 NEO (New Engine Option) aircraft which faced numerous issues with Pratt & Whitney engines.

“We conduct detailed audit of all airlines at least once in a year. (Audit of) IndiGo is this month...some other one (airline) in June. Every audit involves some action,” DGCA B.S. Bhullar said.

The air-worthiness and air safety teams of DGCA are doing a complete review of the engineering and maintenance processes.

IndiGo in a statement said: “We confirm that there is currently a DGCA audit on IndiGo which is combined with the annual main base audit. IndiGo has received a limited number of show cause notices. IndiGo has responded accordingly and we can only comment on this matter after we have a discussion with DGCA on this matter.”

The notices were issued, sources said, after some lapses were allegedly found in incidents reporting, maintenance practices and documentation of maintenance.

The DGCA said: “In such audits, current safety issues remain quite a focus.”

Sources indicated that the audit was ordered to look into instances of the airline not reporting incidents involving the A-320 NEO aircraft.

“The DGCA issued show-cause notices last week to IndiGo’s CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and engineering head S.C. Gupta over the Pratt & Whitney engines issues,” a PTI report on the airline quoting sources said.

However, IndiGo has not replied to a pointed query on whether these two officials have been issued a show cause.

The carrier said: “IndiGo refutes the reasons for the audit quoted in your query. We can confirm that IndiGo operation is run in even more stringent ways as prescribed by regulatory framework. As this is an ongoing audit we can only comment after the process is over.”

The Telegraph