On a day when the aviation regulator directed Air India to ground all six of its Dreamliners following the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s worldwide advisory to ground B-787s, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh says the government will wait for the US regulator’s full report before taking further steps. In an interview with Disha Kanwar and Surajeet Das Gupta, the Union minister talks about Air India’s contract with Boeing and the implications of the latest development.
How serious is the grounding of Dreamliners and how you are going to tackle this issue?
At this point, there is not much clarity on the FAA’s advisory. We are waiting for the FAA report. As Dreamliner is made by a US manufacturer (Boeing), the US regulator should first give a clearance to the aircraft. Based on that, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) will give its approval. Air India Dreamliners had some minor glitches, but those problems are not because of the battery (FAA has reportedly cited probles in the jet’s lithium batteries). FAA has to carry out some tests on whether the lithium battery is creating problems and Boeing also has to come up with tests. We can speculate at this time, but there is not much information. See, we were only flying to Dubai and Frankfurt and some local destinations, and we won’t give them permission to fly until DGCA gives them the clearance.
18/01/13 Disha Kanwar & Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard
