The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said that all the Indian operators with Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft have 'satisfactorily performed' checks pertaining to the operation and closing of all emergency exits. This comes after DGCA issued directions to all Indian operators with Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to check the operation and proper closing of all over-wing emergency exits by Sunday. According to DGCA, the decision came after an incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft on January 5 involving an in-flight departure of a mid-cabin door plug, which resulted in rapid decompression of the aeroplane.
"Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was involved in an incident on 5th January 2024 of an in-flight departure of a mid-cabin door plug which resulted in rapid decompression of the aeroplane. As a precautionary measure, DGCA on 6.1.2024 directed all Indian operators with Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to check the operation and proper closing of all over-wing emergency exits by 7.1.2024. These checks have been satisfactorily performed on the fleet of operational fleet of Boeing B737-8 Max aircraft by Air India Express (4), Spicejet (8) and Akasa (20). Akasa Air fleet includes one B737-8200 aircraft which has a mid-cabin door on which the operational check has also been completed satisfactorily," DGCA said.
Currently, there are more than 40 Boeing 737-8 Max planes that are operated by three domestic carriers -- Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Air India Express.
The directive comes after an Alaska Airlines plane's outer section, including a window, fell off mid-air and the aircraft involved was Boeing 737-9 Max. Indian carriers do not have Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft in their fleets now. The DGCA official had stated that the latest directive was an abundant precautionary measure.
"DGCA has directed all the Indian air operators to carry out a one-time inspection of the emergency exits immediately on all Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft currently operating as part of their fleet," the official said.