A Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report has accused Air India of mismanagement and incurring huge losses at its jet engine overhaul workshop.
The report berates Air India for ‘wasteful expenditure’, ‘inefficiency’, and ‘excessive delays’ in repairing and overhauling its fleet’s engines, resulting in huge losses for the airline.
The report states that Air India, despite having in-house capability, sent 41 engines and engine parts to outside agencies for repair at a cost of Rs 498.66 crore. The shop was also being under-utilized, removing more engines than it repaired, resulting in 1-11 aircraft being grounded for over 3.5 years, says the report.
Labour inefficiencies at the engine shop meant that work took 55% more time to complete work orders in a four year period, losing almost Rs 11 crore on excess labour costs. The report also states that that the management’s replies to some of its findings are ‘unacceptable’.