Technical inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have found recurring faults in nearly half of the aircraft operated by Indian airlines. The government shared details in Parliament, and Air India has also responded to the findings.
On Thursday, February 5, data related to Indian airlines was presented in the Lok Sabha. According to the report, technical analysis of aircraft from Indian carriers found repeated defects in almost half of the planes inspected. Air India and IndiGo were among the airlines with the highest number of aircraft showing recurring issues.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a written reply that from January 2025 until now, technical analysis was conducted on 754 aircraft from six airlines. Out of these, 377 aircraft were found to have recurring defects. IndiGo had the highest number of aircraft inspected. As of February 3, 405 IndiGo aircraft were analyzed, and 148 were found to have repeated issues—about 36 percent of the total inspected fleet.
Air India Tops in Percentage
While IndiGo had the highest number of aircraft with issues, Air India topped the list in terms of percentage. Out of 267 aircraft from the Air India Group (Air India and Air India Express), 191 were found to have recurring defects—around 72 percent of the inspected fleet. This included 137 out of 166 Air India aircraft and 54 out of 101 Air India Express aircraft.
Among other airlines, 16 out of 43 SpiceJet aircraft and 14 out of 32 Akasa Air aircraft reviewed were found to have recurring defects.
Air India’s Response
Responding to the government data, an Air India spokesperson said the airline carried out extensive and cautious checks across its entire fleet, which is why the numbers appear higher. A senior Air India official added that most of the issues were related to low-priority equipment. Aircraft systems are categorized from A to D, and most defects were found in Category D items.
According to the official, these included seats, tray tables, seat-back screens, and similar equipment, which do not affect aircraft safety.
DGCA Increases Monitoring
Since last year, along with airline audits, the DGCA has increased its monitoring of aviation companies. Minister Mohol stated that under planned monitoring, the regulator conducted 3,890 surveillance inspections, 56 regulatory audits, 84 foreign aircraft SOFA checks, and 492 ramp inspections.
Additionally, under unplanned monitoring, DGCA carried out 874 spot checks and 550 night inspections. To strengthen safety oversight, the number of technical staff in DGCA has been increased from 637 to 1,063.
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