The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday asked all Indian carriers to inspect emergency exits of their Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft.

The directive came a day after a window and a chunk of its fuselage of an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing 737-9 Max plane blew out in mid air and forced an emergency landing.

The Indian aviation sector regulator, while issuing the inspection order, clarified that none of the country’s air operators had Boeing 737-9 Max as a part of their fleet yet.

However, all Indian air operators had been asked to carry out a one-time inspection of emergency exits “immediately” on all their Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft as a “precautionary measure”, a DGCA official added.

The official also said that after the Alaska Airlines incident involving Boeing 737 -9 Max aircraft, there had been no inputs or guidance from Boeing so far.

Currently, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa Air have Boeing 737-8 Max planes in their fleets.

On January 5, Alaska Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft, hours after a window and piece of fuselage on one such plane blew out in mid air and forced an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

The incident occurred shortly after takeoff, and the gaping hole caused the cabin to depressurise. Flight data showed the plane climbed to 16,000 feet (4,876 metres) before returning to Portland International Airport.

The plane had landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members.