Indian airlines have completed checks of Boeing 737 MAX planes, says DGCA

New Delhi: Indian airlines have completed precautionary checks of their Boeing 737 MAX planes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

"As a precautionary measure, DGCA on 6 January directed all Indian operators with Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to check the operation and proper closing of all over wing emergency exits by 7 January. These checks have been satisfactorily performed on the fleet of operational fleet of Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft by Air India Express (4), SpiceJet (8) and Akasa Air (20)," the regulator said on Monday.

On Sunday, Air India Express said it had completed its inspection and that it was in touch with Boeing and regulators for more information on the issue.

On Monday, Akasa Air said there were no adverse findings from the inspection of its MAX aircraft. "We can confirm that there are no adverse findings. We can also confirm that there was no disruption to our operations during this time," a spokesperson said.

The development came after images on social media showed Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, with a large hole in its side and passengers using oxygen masks. The flight returned to Portland, US, shortly after taking off for Ontario, California, on 5 January. The US Federal Aviation Administration later ordered a temporary grounding of more than 170 Boeing B737-9 MAX aircraft for inspection.

While the aircraft involved in Alaska incident was a Boeing 737-9, the DGCA directed all Indian airlines to conduct a one-time inspection of the emergency exits on all their Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft out of an abundance of caution. It is important to note that no Indian airline currently operates a Boeing 737-9 MAX. 

"Akasa Air's fleet includes one B737-8200 aircraft which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily," the regulator added.