Six Air India Dreamliners grounded after US FAA Decision
TNI Bureau: All six of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operated by Air India were grounded today following the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive and Indian aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The US FAA issued an advisory to ground all the Dreamliners expressing concerns over the safety of the passengers. The US and Japan Dreamliners were also grounded. However, it is not clear when the Dreamliners will be operated.
The state-owned carrier Air India is operating six Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Out of six, one is always on standby, five are being used. Out of five, two are international flights to Frankfurt and Paris and three others on domestic routes like Bangalore, Mumbai. India was likely to get two Boeing 787 aircraft by the end of this financial year, but the decision has been kept on hold.
The DGCA decided to ground all six Boeing 787 Dreamliners after the US and Japan grounded its Dreamliners on Wednesday. The FAA is believed to be not satisfied with the safety of the aircrafts. It said that the airlines would have to show that the lithium ion batteries were safe.