On March 21, the Indian Aviation Safety Authority, also known as DGCA, announced that the fleet of Boeing 737s operated by Indian airlines has been monitored more closely. Enhanced surveillance was announced after a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines crashed on Monday, killing 132 people. No survivors were reported by Chinese media.
Arun Kumar, the chairman of DGCA, said that the Boeing 737 fleet operated by SpiceJet, Vistara, and Air India Express is currently being monitored more closely. The predecessor to the controversial 737 Max is currently owned by these three airlines. IndiGo, for example, operates all Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.
Air India, however, has a mixed fleet. Boeing wide-body planes and Airbus narrow-body planes are used by the airline. China alone has more than 1,000 Boeing 737s, making it one of the most popular planes in the world.
While the Boeing 737 family includes the 737-900, 737-800, and 737 MAX among others, it’s not clear whether the DGCA has strengthened its surveillance only for the Boeing 737-800 involved in the China crash, or throughout the 737 family. Here is a list of Indian airlines that operate Boeing 737 aircraft –
Spicejet
- Boeing 737-900: 5
- Boeing 737 MAX 8: 13
- Boeing 737-800: 36
- Boeing 737-700: 5
Vistara
- Boeing 737-800: 5
- Boeing 737-900: 2
- Air India Express
- Boeing 737-800: 25
A Boeing 737 Max aircraft is an advanced version of the Boeing 737-800 and was involved in two crashes from October 2018 to March 2019. All 346 people aboard were killed in both crashes. The DGCA imposed a ban on Boeing 737 Max aircraft in March 2019 and lifted it in August 2021 after Boeing completed software rectifications to the satisfaction of the agency.
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