The Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, Mr. Dinh Viet Thang, has issued a directive on compliance with and implementation of an urgent technical notice regarding the PW1100 engines on the A321NEO aircraft operated by Vietnamese airlines.
Illustrative image |
Based on the assessment results of the Safety Evaluation Team for Airbus A321NEO aircraft equipped with PW1100G engines, Director Dinh Viet Thang has instructed Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet to strictly comply with and immediately implement all the contents of the urgent technical notice for PW1000G-C-72-00-0224-00A-930A-D, PW1000G-C-72-00-0225-00A-930A-D engines, and subsequent updates from the manufacturer for PW1100 engines on Airbus A321NEO aircraft.
Director Dinh Viet Thang has requested Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet to report the results and implementation plans to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam before February 15, 2024.
Earlier, on November 3, 2023, Pratt & Whitney, a US company specializing in aircraft engines, issued an urgent technical notice to be applied from January 1, 2024, to timely detect abnormal malfunctions in the production process of PW1100 engines on Airbus A321NEO aircraft with serial numbers PW1000G-C-72-00-0224-00A-930A-D and PW1000G-C-72-00-0225-00A-930A-D.
It is known that Pratt & Whitney will recall around 3,000 A320Neo aircraft engines from airlines worldwide in 2024 to ensure the technical reliability of this aircraft.
According to Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, Mr. Ho Minh Tan, Vietnam has 42 Airbus A321NEO aircraft that need to temporarily suspend operations for engine inspections according to Pratt & Whitney’s notice. Among them, Vietnam Airlines has 20 aircraft and Vietjet has 24 aircraft.
The CEO of Vietnam Airlines, Mr. Le Hong Ha, stated that this will affect the operations of the airline.
Due to supply chain disruptions, the repair time is prolonged. Previously, it usually took about 75-90 days, but now it will take more than 200 days. Vietnam Airlines is managing the time to ensure that engines are maintained and put into operation as quickly as possible.
Vietnam Airlines has wet-leased 4 aircraft (including both the aircraft and crew) to meet the high demand for transportation during the Lunar New Year.
At the same time, in 2024, Vietnam Airlines will continue to monitor and implement the aircraft fleet plan. Within the year, Vietnam Airlines will receive an additional 2 Boeing 787-10 aircraft and 3 Airbus A350 aircraft. Vietnam Airlines will also wet-lease and dry-lease aircraft and monitor the actual market situation to proactively manage operations in 2024.
Duong Ngoc
