Airlines in India have reported 478 technical snags between July 1 2021 and June 30, 2022, the central government said on July 28.
Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia in a response in the Lok Sabha said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has carried out a total of 177 surveillance, 497 spot checks, and 169 night surveillance on engineering and maintenance aspects of scheduled operators during the last one year.
As per the DGCA, an aircraft may experience technical snags due to malfunctioning components/ equipment fitted on the aircraft which require rectification action by the airlines for continued safe, efficient, and reliable air transport service.
The response from the minister comes at a time when a number of technical malfunctions have been reported on flights of Indian airlines.
The DGCA earlier this week attributed the increase in the frequency of technical glitches to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns that impacted airline operations, according to an Indian Express report.
"There is a universal problem of manpower shortage after COVID-19, not just with one airline or one country," DGCA chief Arun Kumar said.
The DGCA began a special audit of commercial airlines last week. As part of the audit, the DGCA is studying the availability of manpower, facilities, and equipment, in addition to aircraft grounded on account of the non-availability of spares.
The DGCA on July 27 also restricted domestic budget carrier SpiceJet's flights to 50 percent of departures approved under the summer schedule.