Hanoi: Airplane engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney (PW)’s recalling of a number of A321Neo aircraft operated by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air has caused the domestic aviation industry to face a serious shortage of aircraft, said Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Thang at a conference held by the Ministry of Transport on April 1.
The official said due to the recall, the aircraft will stop operating in 2024 and 2025, beginning from January 2024.
As of March 31, Vietnam had a fleet of 205 aircraft, of which 159 are operating, 20 are under regular maintenance, and 26 are having their engines checked and repaired following the request of the manufacturer.
From now until the end of the year, 42 aircraft of the domestic airlines will have to stop operating to fix the manufacturer’s engine errors, said Thang, adding that normally, the work takes about 18 months.
However, the number of aircraft in the world with engine errors is huge, causing the manufacturer’s suppl
y chain to be broken. Besides, some airlines had to restructure their debts, pushing aircraft rental prices up and creating a scarcity of aircraft and difficulties in renting.
It is forecast that until 2026 or even 2027, the repair of the engines of the Vietnamese aircraft will be completed, enabling their normal operations, said the CAAV leader.
He warned that due to the airplane shortage, air fares in the peak summer season will be high. The official affirmed that the aviation sector is implementing many measures to deal with the issue, including reviewing procedures to reduce aircraft turnaround time at airports from 45 minutes to 35 minutes.
In September 2023, engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney (PW) announced that it must recall the PW1100 engine on Airbus A321Neo aircraft to carry out in-depth inspection and repair to fix production errors. It is estimated that there are about 600-700 PW1100 engines operating on fleets affected worldwide./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency