Old jets, lax checks, crumbling safety net ail AI as it looks for crash answers

The tragic crash of an Air India Dreamliner in Ahmedabad this June, which claimed 260 lives, has triggered a national reckoning over the state of the country’s flag carrier. While the cause of the crash remains under investigation, the incident has cast an unflinching spotlight on long-standing issues plaguing Air India’s operations, from ageing aircraft and maintenance lapses to systemic safety violations. With pressure mounting from regulators and the public, the airline now faces a defining moment that demands more than just damage control.

At the heart of the crisis is the ageing fleet. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation data, 35 per cent of Air India’s 199 aircraft are more than a decade old, including 43 planes that have crossed 15 years in service. The Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad was nearly 12 years old. Several of the airline’s other widebody aircraft are nearing similar timelines, raising fresh concerns about reliability and airworthiness. By contrast, only 6 per cent of IndiGo’s fleet has crossed the 10-year threshold.

These concerns are not unfounded. In August 2023, a London-bound Dreamliner, identical to the one involved in the crash, was forced to return to Mumbai after suffering an engine shutdown during climb. A fan blade had broken loose and investigators traced the fault to a wrongly installed component from 2018, which remained undetected for five years. The incident highlighted glaring lapses in inspection protocols and quality assurance.

Maintenance remains another major area of concern. Following its privatisation, Air India’s maintenance arm, AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), was retained by the government. As a result, Air India now relies on a fragmented mix of third-party MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) providers, including Lufthansa Technik, Honeywell, Turkish Technic and SIA Engineering. While these partnerships offer international expertise, the lack of a centralised maintenance command has raised concerns about consistency, accountability and response time.

2 flights cancelled

A Delhi-bound Air India flight from Bhubaneswar was cancelled on Sunday due to ‘high temperature’ in the aircraft cabin just prior to its departure for the destination, the airline said in a statement

It also cancelled its flight from Singapore to Chennai due to a maintenance task identified prior to departure which required additional time for rectification. The flight AI349 was to be operated with an Airbus A321

Some of these partnerships have not been without controversy. The airline’s earlier arrangement with Turkish Technic for its Boeing 777 fleet drew criticism due to Turkey’s political stance on India-related issues. Following the backlash, Air India announced it was exploring alternatives and has since taken steps to insource more engineering functions. One major step in that direction is the development of its own MRO facility in Bengaluru, which is expected to reduce reliance on outsourcing and help restore engineering oversight.

Safety audits have painted a sobering picture. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in its annual audit, found 51 safety violations at Air India in just one year, seven of which were categorised as the most serious level of breach. Following the Ahmedabad crash, the regulator issued four show-cause notices, flagging an additional 29 safety-related lapses, including failures in crew duty scheduling, fatigue management and training oversight. These violations, disclosed by the airline itself, signal unresolved internal failures despite repeated warnings from the regulator.

Further concern arose when more than 100 pilots went on medical leave in the days following the crash, triggering alarms about staff morale and internal fatigue. The DGCA had already pulled up the airline in May for scheduling violations, after two Bengaluru-London flights exceeded legal duty hours on consecutive days. These oversights point to a broader institutional breakdown, where operational ambition appears to have outpaced safety safeguards.

In response, Air India has embarked on what is being termed India’s largest fleet modernisation programme. In February 2023, the airline placed orders for 470 new aircraft, 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. “Deliveries of next-generation A350s and Boeing 787-9s are set to begin later this year, with the full induction continuing through 2029. These additions are aimed at replacing outdated jets, improving fuel efficiency and enhancing long-haul performance,” said an airline official.

To support this transition, Air India has signed long-term strategic partnerships for component support and inventory management. Contracts with global players such as SIA Engineering and Honeywell are designed to streamline technical operations across the Airbus and Boeing fleets.

“The airline is also investing in modernising its training and safety compliance systems to align with international standards,” said the airline official.

However, aviation analysts caution that hardware upgrades alone will not suffice. Without stronger institutional accountability, internal reform and rigorous regulatory enforcement, the airline’s vulnerabilities will persist. “It’s not just about fleet or maintenance, it’s about an entire system that must operate with zero tolerance for failure,” noted Amit Singh, an industry expert.

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