The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation had launched an investigation to examine the engine types used on the new Airbus A320neo (New engine option) fitted on a number of Indian airline fleets. Following a number a number of incidents involving the Pratt and Whitney engines (P&W), both IndiGo Airlines and GoAir have been instructed by the DGCA to perform boroscopic inspections on the engines of over 20 aircraft. These inspections had initially been required after the engines had completed 1,500 flight hours; however the DGCA has asked this be performed at 1,000 hours instead. The DGCA noted that its concerns stemmed from reports that the presence of metal chips had been found within the engine oil.

In early March 2017, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded Kenya a Category 1 status, as part of its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) scheme. Prior to this change, all Kenya-based airlines had been prohibited from flying directly to the United States and could not establish code shares with US-Based carriers. The IASA programme was launched by the FAA in 1992. The IASA Programme assists in determining whether a country’s civil aviation regulator adheres to internationally recognised standards in regulatory oversight. Additionally, the assessment examines critical aspects of a nation’s aviation industry including legislation, training, licensing, certification, airworthiness and maintenance.

The United States Government has announced new requirements for select airlines and countries regarding the carriage of electronic devices into the United States. The change affects eight Middle Eastern countries including Turkey, Egypt and the UAE and instructs certain airlines of these nations that electronic devices larger than a smartphone such as laptops and tablets may not be carried on board and must be placed in the checked baggage hold. The move comes after US intelligence agencies cited that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and may attempt to smuggle explosives on board using these types of devices.