InterGlobe Aviation shares fall 3 pc after DGCA directive

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation fell 3 per cent on Tuesday after the DGCA asked IndiGo not to use A320 Neo planes which are fitted with PW engines that have already been used for over 3,000 hours, or face grounding of aircraft.

The scrip declined 3.03 per cent to close at Rs 1,410.30 on the BSE. During the day, it dropped 5.19 per cent to Rs 1,378.75.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the company's shares fell 2.63 per cent to close at Rs 1,415.

The scrip has been falling for the third consecutive day. Shares of InterGlobe Aviation had on Friday tumbled 12 per cent, wiping more than Rs 7,600 crore off its market valuation after the company posted a substantial loss in the September quarter.

The country's civil aviation regulator DGCA on Monday asked IndiGo not to use such A320 Neo planes which are fitted with PW engines already used for over 3,000 hours, or face grounding of aircraft, officials said.

A Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said there are 16 aircraft in IndiGo's fleet in which both the Pratt and Whitney (PW) engines have been used for more than 2,900 hours.

All such 16 aircraft have to be fitted with at least one modified low-pressure turbine (LPT) engine within next 15 days, said the official.

"Failing which, all these aircraft shall be grounded. This has been done after studying the pattern and evaluating the risk," the DGCA official said.

Budget carrier IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation on Thursday reported widening of its net loss to Rs 1,062 crore for the September quarter, hit by higher costs related to operating lease liabilities.