Air India says aircraft grounding for maintenance a common practice

Air India Monday termed the aircraft grounding for maintenance a common practice, a day after one of its pilot unions alleged that as many as 19 aircraft were on ground due to lack of spares. "It is a common practice for every airline to ground some of its aircraft for routine maintenance and checks periodically by its engineering department so that the aircraft are fit to fly in conformity to laid down standards," Air India said. Asserting that it accords "top-most priority" to safety of the aircraft in its fleet, the airline said, "Our aircraft also go for these checks without affecting our flight schedule and causing inconvenience to our passengers." Besides, there are also aircraft fleet swaps which result in last minute change of inventory, the ICPA said in a letter to Air India chairman and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola. <br/>