Indian aviation may face another headwind in 2024 with Boeing asking airlines to conduct checks on its 737 Max aircraft, a development that comes after IndiGo, the country’s biggest carrier, announced that it will ground more aircraft – over the existing 40 Airbus A320 Neo planes grounded and run on Pratt & Whitney engines in the first three months of next year.

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There are now 43 737 Max planes in the fleet of various airlines in India, including 22 with Akasa Air, 13 with SpiceJet and eight with Air India Express, according to Planespotter, a fleet tracking website.

The issue with the Boeing aircraft came to light after an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance. The issue identified on that particular airplane was remedied, Boeing said on Friday. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX airplanes and inform us of any findings,” the planemaker said in a statement. “We have informed the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and will continue to keep them aware of our progress.”

FAA, the US aviation regulator, had on Thursday said it was monitoring the targeted inspections of the planes.

It is not yet clear whether the inspections would hamper flight operations in India. “We have been made aware of this issue by Boeing. Like all operators around the world, and in accordance with our highest standards of safety, Akasa will be following the same checks and procedures that the manufacturer or regulator recommends,” a spokesperson of Akasa said. “Our operating fleet and deliveries are not impacted so far.”

Air India Express and SpiceJet did not respond to queries on the matter.

The latest problem in the narrow body B737 Max comes at a time when there is already a possibility that around 200 aircraft of India’s commercial airlines fleet are expected to be grounded by March due to various supply chain issues.

“The Pratt & Whitney issue is here for good and is expected to cause flight disruptions in the entire year,” said Mark Martin, chief executive officer of Martin Consulting, an aviation firm. “To add to this, the latest recommendation by Boeing will only lead to stress in the domestic market, thus troubling passengers.”

Another experts said it might not impact flight operations. “The issue pointed but by Boeing is not as severe as the Pratt & Whitney engine issues. It is not a time- consuming inspection and will not take more than a couple of hours to inspect an aircraft,” said Mohan Ranganathan. “Therefore, it should not impact passengers.”

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There’s not enough clarity on the likely impact of the latest issue with B737 Max planes, said an airline official. “As of now, we do not know what kind of impact the recommended inspections will have on the domestic sector as three of the Indian airlines, especially Akasa, operate the said fleet,” he said, declining to be named. “However, the nature of the inspection does not appear to be time- consuming.”